A method to determine a performance indicator indicative of alignment performance of a processed substrate. The method includes obtaining measurement data including a plurality of measured position values of alignment marks on the substrate and calculating a positional deviation between each measured position value and a respective expected position value. These positional deviations are used to determine a directional derivative between the alignment marks, and the directional derivatives are used to determine at least one directional derivative performance indicator.

The present invention provides a processing system that includes a first apparatus and a second apparatus, and processes a substrate, wherein the first apparatus includes a first measurement unit configured to detect a first structure and a second structure different from the first structure provided on the substrate, and measure a relative position between the first structure and the second structure, and the second apparatus includes an obtainment unit configured to obtain the relative position measured by the first measurement unit, a second measurement unit configured to detect the second structure and measure a position of the second structure, and a control unit configured to obtain a position of the first structure based on the relative position obtained by the obtainment unit and the position of the second structure measured by the second measurement unit.

The present invention provides a method for calculating a corrected substrate height map of a first substrate using a height level sensor. The method comprises: sampling the first substrate by means of the height level sensor with the first substrate moving with a first velocity, wherein the first velocity is a first at least partially non-constant velocity of the first substrate with respect to the height level sensor, to generate a first height level data, generating a first height map based on the first height level data, and calculating a corrected substrate height map by subtracting a correction map from the first height map, wherein the correction map is calculated from the difference between a first velocity height map and a second velocity height map.

Disclosed is a method for determining a stage position or correction therefor in a lithographic process. The method comprises obtaining transmission data describing the transmission of alignment radiation onto the substrate; obtaining position data relating to a stage position of said stage and/or a sensor position of said sensor. A weighting is determined for the position data based on said transmission data. The position based on said transmission data, position data and weighting.

A method for determining substrate deformation includes obtaining first measurement data associated with mark positions, from measurements of a plurality of substrates; obtaining second measurement data associated with mark positions, from measurements of the plurality of substrates; determining a mapping between the first measurement data and the second measurement data; and decomposing the mapping, by calculating an eigenvalue decomposition for the mapping, to separately determine a first deformation (e.g. mark deformation) that scales differently from a second deformation (e.g. substrate deformation) in the mapping between the data. The steps of determining a mapping and decomposing the mapping may be performed together using non-linear optimization.

According to one embodiment, a misalignment measuring apparatus includes: an input circuit; a storage medium; a first circuit configured to, in a first calibration pattern, calculate a second misalignment amount; a second circuit configured to, using a first image of a second calibration pattern, calculate a third misalignment amount; a third circuit configured to calculate a coefficient indicating; and a fourth circuit configured to, using a second image corresponding to the first and second patterns, calculate a third center position of a third contour and calculate the first misalignment amount between the first pattern and the second pattern based on the fourth misalignment amount and the coefficient.

The present invention provides a measurement apparatus for measuring a position of a first pattern and a position of a second pattern provided in a target object, the apparatus including an image capturing unit including a plurality of pixels which detect light from the first pattern and light from the second pattern, and configured to form an image capturing region used to capture the first pattern and the second pattern by the plurality of pixels, and a control unit configured to adjust the image capturing unit such that a relative ratio of an intensity of a detection signal of the first pattern generated based on an output from a first image capturing region and an intensity of a detection signal of the second pattern generated based on an output from a second image capturing region falls within an allowable range.

According to one embodiment, a misalignment measuring apparatus includes: an input circuit; a storage medium; a first circuit configured to, in a first calibration pattern, calculate a second misalignment amount; a second circuit configured to, using a first image of a second calibration pattern, calculate a third misalignment amount; a third circuit configured to calculate a coefficient indicating; and a fourth circuit configured to, using a second image corresponding to the first and second patterns, calculate a third center position of a third contour and calculate the first misalignment amount between the first pattern and the second pattern based on the fourth misalignment amount and the coefficient.

A patterning device alignment system including a multipath sensory array including a first collimating light path and one or more other light paths, a first detector positioned at a first end of the first collimating light path, and a second detector positioned at a first end of the one or more other light paths, the first detector configured to receive a reflected illumination beam from an illuminated patterning device and calculate a tilt parameter of the patterning device, and the second detector configured to receive a second reflected illumination beam from a beam splitter and calculate an X-Y planar location position and a rotation position of the patterning device.

A method of semiconductor metrology includes patterning a film layer on a semiconductor substrate to define a first field on the semiconductor substrate with a first pattern comprising at least a first target feature within a first margin along a first edge of the first field and to define a second field, which abuts the first field, with a second pattern comprising at least a second target feature within a second margin along a second edge of the second field, such that the second edge of the second field adjoins the first edge of the first field. The first target feature in the first margin is adjacent to the second target feature in the second margin without overlapping the second target feature. An image is captured of at least the first and second target features and is processed to detect a misalignment between the first and second fields.