Method and apparatus for using scatterometry to perform feedback and feed-forward control

An apparatus, comprising:

• a computer system;
• a manufacturing model coupled with said computer system, said manufacturing model being capable of generating and modifying at least one control input parameter signal;
• a machine interface coupled with said manufacturing model, said machine interface being capable of receiving process recipes from said manufacturing model;
• a processing tool capable of processing semiconductor wafers and coupled with said machine interface, said first processing tool being capable of receiving at least one control input parameter signal from said machine interface;
• a metrology tool coupled with said first processing tool and said second processing tool, said metrology tool being capable of acquiring metrology data;
• a metrology data processing unit coupled with said metrology tool, said metrology data processing unit being capable of organizing said acquired metrology data;
• and
• a feedback/feed-forward controller coupled with said metrology tool and said computer system, wherein said feedback/feed-forward controller is capable of generating feedback and feed-forward adjustment data and sending them to said computer system for modification of said control system parameters.

An apparatus, comprising:

• means for performing a processing run of semiconductor devices;
• means for acquiring metrology data from said processed semiconductor devices;
• means for acquiring error data by analyzing said acquired metrology data;
• means for determining whether said error data merits modification to said processing of semiconductor devices;
• means for performing a feedback modification of said processing of semiconductor devices in response to said determination that said error data merits modification to said processing of semiconductor devices;
• and
• means for performing a feed-forward modification of said processing of said semiconductor devices in response to said determination that said error data merits modification to said processing of semiconductor devices.

A computer readable program storage device encoded with instructions that, when executed by a computer, performs a method, comprising:

• performing a processing run of semiconductor devices;
• acquiring metrology data from said processed semiconductor devices;
• acquiring error data by analyzing said acquired metrology data;
• determining whether said error data merits modification to said processing of semiconductor devices;
• performing a feedback modification of said processing of semiconductor devices in response to said determination that said error data merits modification to said processing of semiconductor devices;
• and
• performing a feed-forward modification of said processing of said semiconductor devices in response to said determination that said error data merits modification to said processing of semiconductor devices.