A system includes an illumination system, an optical element, and a detector. The optical system is implemented on a substrate. The illumination system includes first and second sources and first and second generators. The illumination system generates a beam of radiation. The first and second sources generate respective first and second different wavelength bands. The first and second resonators are optically coupled to respective ones of the first and second sources and narrow respective ones of the first and second wavelength bands. The optical element directs the beam toward a target structure. The detector receives radiation from the target structure and to generate a measurement signal based on the received radiation.

A compact sensor apparatus having an illumination beam, a beam shaping system, a polarization modulation system, a beam projection system, and a signal detection system. The beam shaping system is configured to shape an illumination beam generated from the illumination system and generate a flat top beam spot of the illumination beam over a wavelength range from 400 nm to 2000 nm. The polarization modulation system is configured to provide tenability of linear polarization state of the illumination beam. The beam projection system is configured to project the flat top beam spot toward a target, such as an alignment mark on a substrate. The signal detection system is configured to collect a signal beam comprising diffraction order sub-beams generated from the target, and measure a characteristic (e.g., overlay) of the target based on the signal beam.

The present invention may include acquiring a plurality of overlay metrology measurement signals from a plurality of metrology targets distributed across one or more fields of a wafer of a lot of wafers, determining a plurality of overlay estimates for each of the plurality of overlay metrology measurement signals using a plurality of overlay algorithms, generating a plurality of overlay estimate distributions, and generating a first plurality of quality metrics utilizing the generated plurality of overlay estimate distributions, wherein each quality metric corresponds with one overlay estimate distribution of the generated plurality of overlay estimate distributions, each quality metric a function of a width of a corresponding generated overlay estimate distribution, each quality metric further being a function of asymmetry present in an overlay metrology measurement signal from an associated metrology target.

Methods and systems for determining one or more characteristics of light in an optical system are provided. One system includes first detector(s) configured to detect light having one or more wavelengths shorter than 190 nm emitted from a light source at one or more first angles mutually exclusive of one or more second angles at which the light is collected from the light source by an optical system for illumination of a specimen and to generate first output responsive to the light detected by the first detector(s). In addition, the system includes a control subsystem configured for determining one or more characteristics of the light at one or more planes in the optical system based on the first output.

Provided herein are molecules and salts thereof, arrays containing molecules and salts thereof, solid supports containing molecules and salts thereof, kits containing molecules or salts thereof, and methods of determining alignment of photolithographic masks comprising molecules or salts thereof.

Methods and systems for measuring optical properties of transistor channel structures and linking the optical properties to the state of strain are presented herein. Optical scatterometry measurements of strain are performed on metrology targets that closely mimic partially manufactured, real device structures. In one aspect, optical scatterometry is employed to measure uniaxial strain in a semiconductor channel based on differences in measured spectra along and across the semiconductor channel. In a further aspect, the effect of strain on measured spectra is decorrelated from other contributors, such as the geometry and material properties of structures captured in the measurement. In another aspect, measurements are performed on a metrology target pair including a strained metrology target and a corresponding unstrained metrology target to resolve the geometry of the metrology target under measurement and to provide a reference for the estimation of the absolute value of strain.

A method for determining a measurement recipe describing one or more measurement settings for measuring a parameter of interest from a substrate subject to an etch induced parameter error, the etch induced parameter error affecting measurement of the parameter of interest in a recipe dependent manner. The method include obtaining parameter of interest set-up data relating to measurements of at least one set-up substrate on which the parameter of interest has various first induced set values and etch induced parameter set-up data relating to measurements of at least one set-up substrate on which the etch induced parameter has various second induced set values. The recipe is determined so as to minimize the effect of the etch induced parameter on measurement of the parameter of interest.

A method for determining an optimized weighting of an encoder and decoder network; the method comprising: for each of a plurality of test weightings, performing the following steps with the encoder and decoder operating using the test weighting: (a) encoding, using the encoder, a reference image and a distorted image into a latent space to form an encoding; (b) decoding the encoding, using the decoder, to form a distortion map indicative of a difference between the reference image and a distorted image; (c) spatially transforming the distorted image by the distortion map to obtain an aligned image; (d) comparing the aligned image to the reference image to obtain a similarity metric; and (e) determining a loss function which is at least partially defined by the similarity metric; wherein the optimized weighting is determined to be the test weighting which has an optimized loss function.

A method for controlling a lithographic apparatus, and associated apparatuses. The method is configured to provide product structures to a substrate in a lithographic process and includes determining optimization data. The optimization data includes measured and/or simulated data of at least one performance parameter associated with the product structures and/or their arrangement which are to be applied to the substrate in the lithographic process. Substrate specific metrology data as measured and/or modeled before the providing of product structures to the substrate is determined, the substrate specific metrology data including metrology data relating to a characteristic of the substrate to which the structures are being applied and/or the state of the lithographic apparatus at the time that the structures are applied to the substrate. The method further includes optimizing control of the lithographic apparatus during the lithographic process based on the optimization data and the substrate specific metrology data.

An amorphous layer is used as a protective coating for hygroscopic nonlinear optical crystals. The amorphous layer consists of one or more alkali metal borates and/or alkali earth metal borates. The amorphous layer slows or prevents water and/or oxygen from diffusing into the hygroscopic nonlinear optical crystal, thus simplifying handling, storage and operating environmental requirements. One or multiple additional coating layers may be placed on top of the amorphous layer, with the additional coating layers including conventional optical materials. The thicknesses of the amorphous layer and/or additional layers may be chosen to reduce reflectance of the optical component at one or more specific wavelengths. The coated nonlinear optical crystal is used in an illumination source utilized in a semiconductor inspection system, a metrology system, or a lithography system.