METHOD AND APPARATUS TO DETERMINE A PATTERNING PROCESS PARAMETER

• Main Authors: Mc NAMARA, Elliott Gerard, WANG, Shu-jin, TSIATMAS, Anagnostis, VERMA, Alok, THEEUWES, Thomas, ZAAL, Martijn Maria, VAN WITTEVEEN, Koen, VAN LEEST, Adriaan Johan, DE LA FUENTE VALENTIN, Maria Isabel, HINNEN, Paul Christiaan, CRAMER, Hugo Augustinus Joseph
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 04.02.2021
• Subjects: APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY; INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; MEASURING; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; PHOTOGRAPHY; PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES,e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTORDEVICES; PHYSICS; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; TESTING

A metrology target includes: a first structure arranged to be created by a first patterning process; and a second structure arranged to be created by a second patterning process, wherein the first structure and/or second structure is not used to create a functional aspect of a device pattern, and wherein the first and second structures together form one or more instances of a unit cell, the unit cell having geometric symmetry at a nominal physical configuration and wherein the unit cell has a feature that causes, at a different physical configuration than the nominal physical configuration due to a relative shift in pattern placement in the first patterning process, the second patterning process and/or another patterning process, an asymmetry in the unit cell.