A method for assigning features into at least first features and second features, the first features being for at least one first patterning device configured for use in a lithographic process to form corresponding first structures on a substrate and the second features being for at least one second patterning device configured for use in a lithographic process to form corresponding second structures on a substrate, wherein the method including assigning the features into the first features and the second features based on a patterning characteristic of the features.

Extreme ultra-violet (EUV) lithography ruling engine specifically configured to print one-dimensional lines on a target workpiece includes source of EUV radiation; a pattern-source defining 1D pattern; an illumination unit (IU) configured to irradiate the pattern-source; and projection optics (PO) configured to optically image, with a reduction factor N>1, the 1D pattern on image surface that is optically-conjugate to the 1D pattern. Irradiation of the pattern-source can be on-axis or off-axis. While 1D pattern has first spatial frequency, its optical image has second spatial frequency that is at least twice the first spatial frequency. The pattern-source can be flat or curved. The IU may include a relay reflector. A PO's reflector may include multiple spatially-distinct reflecting elements aggregately forming such reflector. The engine is configured to not allow formation of optical image of any 2D pattern that has spatial resolution substantially equal to a pitch of the 1D pattern of the pattern-source.

The embodiments of the present disclosure propose a negative refraction imaging lithographic method and equipment. The lithographic method includes: coating photoresist on a device substrate; fabricating a negative refraction imaging structure, wherein the negative refraction imaging structure exhibits optical negative refraction in response to beam emitted by exposure source; pressing a mask to be close to the negative refraction imaging structure; disposing the mask and the negative refraction imaging structure above the device substrate at a projection distance; and light emitted by the exposure source passes through the mask, the negative refraction imaging structure, the projection gap and is sequentially projected onto the photoresist for exposure.

A method, includes, in part, defining a continuous signal, defining a threshold value, calibrating the continuous signal and the threshold value from measurements made on edges of one or more patterns on a mask and corresponding edges of the patterns on a wafer, convolving the continuous signal with a kernel to form a corrected signal, and establishing, by a processor, a probability of forming an edge at a point along the corrected signal in accordance with a difference between the value of the corrected signal at the point and the calibrated threshold value. The kernel is calibrated using the same measurements made on the patterns' edges.

Provided herein are apparatus, systems and methods for processing reticle blanks. A reticle processing system includes a support assembly having a plate coupled to a frame, and a carrier base assembly supported on the support assembly. The carrier base assembly comprises a wall extending from a top surface of the carrier base and defining a containment region for a reticle.

A method including: obtaining a thin-mask transmission function of a patterning device and a M3D model for a lithographic process, wherein the thin-mask transmission function represents a continuous transmission mask and the M3D model at least represents a portion of M3D attributable to multiple edges of structures on the patterning device; determining a M3D mask transmission function of the patterning device by using the thin-mask transmission function and the M3D model; and determining an aerial image produced by the patterning device and the lithographic process, by using the M3D mask transmission function.

Metrology methods and targets are provided for reducing or eliminating a difference between a device pattern position and a target pattern position while maintaining target printability, process compatibility and optical contrast—in both imaging and scatterometry metrology. Pattern placement discrepancies may be reduced by using sub-resolved assist features in the mask design which have a same periodicity (fine pitch) as the periodic structure and/or by calibrating the measurement results using PPE (pattern placement error) correction factors derived by applying learning procedures to specific calibration terms, in measurements and/or simulations. Metrology targets are disclosed with multiple periodic structures at the same layer (in addition to regular target structures), e.g., in one or two layers, which are used to calibrate and remove PPE, especially when related to asymmetric effects such as scanner aberrations, off-axis illumination and other error sources.

A device (100) includes a light source (130) and a light guide (110). The light source (130) is configured to emit photoresist-curative electromagnetic radiation. The light guide (110) is arranged to receive the photoresist-curative electromagnetic radiation from the light source (130) and to guide the received radiation by total internal reflection, the light guide (110) including a pattern of emission points (210) on at least one surface of the light guide (110), the emission points (210) emitting the photoresist-curative electromagnetic radiation out of the light guide (110) by frustration of total internal reflection caused by the emission points (210).

An appliance for moiré measurement of an object (12) includes a grating arrangement having a first grating (11) positioned upstream of the object and including test structures to be imaged, a second grating (14) positioned downstream of the object, and an evaluation unit having at least one detector evaluating moiré structures produced by superposing the two gratings in a detection plane situated downstream of the second grating. The object is an anamorphic imaging system, and the respective grating periods of the first grating and of the second grating are selected so that the grating period of the second grating corresponds to a common multiple or a common divisor of the respective periods of two test structure images of the test structures of the first grating produced by the imaging system in two different measurement positions. The two measurement positions differ in relative grating arrangement position and test object position.

A method including: obtaining a characteristic of a portion of a design layout; determining a characteristic of M3D of a patterning device including or forming the portion; and training, by a computer, a neural network using training data including a sample whose feature vector includes the characteristic of the portion and whose supervisory signal includes the characteristic of the M3D. Also disclosed is a method including: obtaining a characteristic of a portion of a design layout; obtaining a characteristic of a lithographic process that uses a patterning device including or forming the portion; determining a characteristic of a result of the lithographic process; training, by a computer, a neural network using training data including a sample whose feature vector includes the characteristic of the portion and the characteristic of the lithographic process, and whose supervisory signal includes the characteristic of the result.