A reticle thermal expansion calibration method includes exposing a group of wafers and generating a sub-recipe, performing data mining and data parsing to generate a plurality of overlay parameters, extracting a plurality of predetermined parameters from the plurality of overlay parameters, performing a linear regression on each of the predetermined parameters, and generating a coefficient of determination for each of the predetermined parameters.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure are directed towards a semiconductor processing system including an overlay (OVL) shift measurement device. The OVL shift measurement device is configured to determine an OVL shift between a first wafer and a second wafer, where the second wafer overlies the first wafer. A photolithography device is configured to perform one or more photolithography processes on the second wafer. A controller is configured to perform an alignment process on the photolithography device according to the determined OVL shift. The photolithography device performs the one or more photolithography processes based on the OVL shift.

The present application provides an alignment method for backside photolithography process of the wafer, the alignment method includes: cutting the wafer, and using at least two edges formed by cutting as the first alignment mark; bonding the front side of the wafer to the wafer pad to form a composite wafer; aligning the first alignment mark with the corresponding second alignment mark on the photomask for backside photolithography. This method is not limited by wafer thickness and material, and reduces the secondary input of the photolithography equipment; meanwhile, the probability of fragments of thin wafers in the photolithography process can be reduced, and the yield of the product is effectively improved.

In a method executed in an exposure apparatus, a focus control effective region and a focus control exclusion region are set based on an exposure map and a chip area layout within an exposure area. Focus-leveling data are measured over a wafer. A photo resist layer on the wafer is exposed with an exposure light. When a chip area of a plurality of chip areas of the exposure area is located within an effective region of a wafer, the chip area is included in the focus control effective region, and when a part of or all of a chip area of the plurality of chip areas is located on or outside a periphery of the effective region of the wafer, the chip area is included in the focus control exclusion region In the exposing, a focus-leveling is controlled by using the focus-leveling data measured at the focus control effective region.

A measurement system in which an object that moves toward a processing position serves as a measurement target. In the processing position a processing device is capable of applying processing to the object. The measurement system includes: a mark detection device that has an irradiation system to irradiate a mark provided at the object that is moving with a measurement beam while moving the measurement beam; and a beam receiving system to receive a beam from the mark. The irradiation system irradiates the object with the measurement beam while moving the measurement beam, during a period when the object moves toward the processing position.

A method including calculating, using an objective function, which includes a regression model used to estimate an array of a plurality of regions on a substrate and a regularization term used to limit a value of a coefficient of the regression model, a value of each of a plurality of coefficients included in the regression model, with which the objective function becomes not more than a reference value, extracting, based on the calculated values, the coefficient having the value not less than a threshold value from the plurality of coefficients, and obtaining, using a regression model including only the extracted coefficient, an array of a plurality of regions on a substrate.

An imprint apparatus forms a pattern of a resin on a region to be processed of a substrate using a mold including a pattern region on which a pattern is formed and includes a correction unit configured to correct a shape of a target region that is either the pattern region on the mold or the region to be processed on the substrate, wherein the correction unit further includes: a heating unit configured to heat an object corresponding to the target region of either the mold or the substrate in a heating region having an area smaller than that of the pattern region on the mold; a scanning unit configured to scan the heating region with respect to the target region by changing the relative position of the target region and the heating region; and a control unit configured to acquire information regarding a correction deformation amount of the target region and control the heating unit and the scanning unit based on the information.

Method for positioning and orienting a first object relative to a second object. The method includes positioning a near field transducer having an aperture on the first object, and directing a laser light toward the aperture of the near field transducer on the first object to create an effervescent wave on the other side of the aperture. Positioning a sensor on the second object for detecting the effervescent wave from the near field transducer. Providing an algorithm, and using information obtained from the sensor on the second object in the algorithm to control a nanopositioning system to position one of the first object and the second object in a desired position and orientation relative to the other one of the first object and the second object.

An exposure method includes exposing a substrate to form a first pattern on a first layer, measuring a first alignment value of the first pattern, generating first correction data by using the first alignment value, storing the first correction data and exposing the substrate to form a second pattern on a second layer disposed on the first layer by using the first correction data.

While a wafer stage linearly moves in a Y-axis direction, a multipoint AF system detects surface position information of the wafer surface at a plurality of detection points that are set at a predetermined distance in an X-axis direction and also a plurality of alignment systems that are arrayed in a line along the X-axis direction detect each of marks at positions different from one another on the wafer. That is, detection of surface position information of the wafer surface at a plurality of detection points and detection of the marks at positions different from one another on the wafer are finished, only by the wafer stage (wafer) linearly passing through the array of the plurality of detection points of the multipoint AF system and the plurality of alignment systems, and therefore, the throughput can be improved.