# US 2025/0147429 A1 · Determining a measurement recipe in a metrology method

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- Number: US 2025/0147429 A1
- Document ID: US20250147429A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 18/693,337
- Filed: 2022-09-23
- Published: 2025-05-08
- Earliest claimed: 2021-10-18
- Assignees: ASML Netherlands B.V.
- Applicants: Asml Netherlands B.V.
- Inventors: Sebastianus Adrianus GOORDEN; Simon Reinald HUISMAN; Simon Gijsbert Josephus MATHIJSSEN
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20250147429A1

## CPC

- G03F 7/70633: {Overlay, i.e. relative alignment between patterns printed by separate exposures in different layers, or in the same layer in multiple exposures or stitching}
- G03F 7/70616: {Monitoring the printed patterns}
- G03F 7/70655: {Non-optical, e.g. atomic force microscope [AFM] or critical dimension scanning electron microscope [CD-SEM]}
- G03F 7/706831: {Recipe selection or optimisation, e.g. select or optimise recipe parameters such as wavelength, polarisation or illumination modes}
- G03F 9/7019: {Calibration}
- G03F 9/7046: {Strategy, e.g. mark, sensor or wavelength selection}
- G03F 9/7053: {Non-optical, e.g. mechanical, capacitive, using an electron beam, acoustic or thermal waves}
- G03F 9/7061: {Scanning probe microscopy, e.g. AFM, scanning tunneling microscopy}
- G03F: PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; (phototypographic composing devices B41B; photosensitive materials or processes for photographic purposes G03C; electrophotography, sensitive layers or processes therefor G03G)

## Abstract

A method for determining a measurement setting for measuring a parameter of interest from a target structure on a substrate. The method includes: obtaining first position difference data describing a difference between a position of a first representative target structure position and a position of one or more first features relating to product structure; obtaining optical metrology data relating to optical measurements of the target structure and further relating to a plurality of different measurement settings; and determining the measurement setting from the first position difference data and the optical metrology data such that a measured feature position value obtained from an optical measurement of the target structure using the determined measurement setting is better correlated to a position of the one or more first features.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for determining a measurement setting for measuring a parameter of interest from a target structure on a substrate; the method comprising:
obtaining first position difference data describing a difference between a position of a first representative target structure position and a position of one or more first features relating to a product structure;
obtaining optical metrology data relating to optical measurements of the target structure and further relating to a plurality of different measurement settings; and
determining the measurement setting from the first position difference data and the optical metrology data such that a measured feature position value obtained from an optical measurement of the target structure using the determined measurement setting is expected to represent a position of the one or more first features.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first position difference data is obtained from direct measurement of the first representative target structure position and the position of one or more first features.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the first position difference data comprises scanning electron microscope data and/or transmission electron microscope data.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising performing first metrology on at least one substrate comprising a plurality of instances of the target structure to obtain the first position difference data.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first representative target structure position describes a center of mass position of the target structure, center position of the target structure, other feature position of the target structure or average position of two or more features of the target structure.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the target structure comprises a sub-segmented target structure having a periodicity of sufficient magnitude to be resolvable by an optical metrology tool; and
the sub-segmentation comprising and/or being representative of the one or more first features.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first position difference data comprises measurements of a difference between a position of the sub-segmentation comprising and/or being representative of the one or more first features and the first representative target structure position.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the determining a measurement setting comprises determining the measurement setting to minimize a difference between second position difference data obtained from the optical metrology data and the first position difference data, wherein the second position difference data comprises a difference between a measured position obtained using the determined measurement setting with a second representative target structure position.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the second representative target structure position comprises an average measured position over a plurality of different measurement settings.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the average measured position comprises a signal strength weighted average measured position.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the second representative target structure position is obtained by:
obtaining a plurality of intensity asymmetry values for each of a plurality of different illumination settings, wherein an intensity asymmetry value comprises a metric related to a difference or imbalance between the respective intensities or amplitudes of at least two complementary diffraction orders of radiation diffracted by the target said structure;
translating the intensity asymmetry value into a phase offset corresponding to asymmetric deviation in the target structure; and
determining, from the phase offset, the second representative target structure position as a position corrected for the asymmetric deviation.

### Claim 12 (depends on 8)

The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the second representative target structure position corresponds to a center of mass or center position of the target structure.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein each measurement setting comprises one or more selected from:
an illumination setting, where an illumination setting describes one or a combination of measurement wavelengths and/or one or a combination of measurement polarizations;
a weighting for one or a plurality of measurement wavelengths and/or measurement polarizations; and/or
a weighting for particular regions, pixels or groups of pixels of a measurement image.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first position difference data and the optical metrology data all relate to metrology performed before an exposure step, the method not using any hindsight overlay metrology.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising using the determined measurement setting to determine a parameter of interest value comprising and/or relating to the measured feature position value from an optical measurement of the target structure.

### Claim 16

(canceled)

### Claim 17

A non-transient computer program carrier comprising a computer program, the computer program, when executed by one or more processors, configured to cause the one or processors to at least:
obtain first position difference data describing a difference between a position of a first representative position of a target structure on a substrate and a position of one or more first features relating to a product structure;
obtain optical metrology data relating to optical measurements of the target structure and further relating to a plurality of different measurement settings; and
determine a measurement setting from the first position difference data and the optical metrology data such that a measured feature position value obtained from an optical measurement of the target structure using the determined measurement setting is expected to represent a position of the one or more first features.

### Claim 18

(canceled)

### Claim 19 (depends on 17)

An alignment sensor comprising:
a detector;
one or more processors; and
the non-transient computer program carrier according to claim 17.

### Claim 20 (depends on 17)

A lithographic apparatus comprising:
a patterning device support configured to support a patterning device;
a substrate support configured to support a substrate; and
the non-transient computer program carrier of claim 17.

### Claim 21 (depends on 17)

The carrier as claimed in claim 17, wherein the first position difference data is obtained from direct measurement of the first representative target structure position and the position of one or more first features.

### Claim 22 (depends on 17)

The carrier as claimed in claim 17, wherein the computer program is further configured to cause the one or more processors to use the determined measurement setting to determine a parameter of interest value comprising and/or relating to the measured feature position value from an optical measurement of the target structure.