An apparatus for detecting an attitude of electronic components. The electronic components include an electronic component having a plurality of terminals. The apparatus includes a storage and an image processor. The image processor is configured to: extract a binarized image from an image acquired by an imaging device; perform image matching between a terminal in the binarized image and a terminal in a model image to extract attitude candidates of image matching; obtain coordinates of a corner part of the plurality of terminals from the binarized image of the electronic component; select an attitude candidate from among the attitude candidates of image matching; and output the attitude candidate as a detected attitude of the electronic component.

Methods and apparatus for estimating an unknown value of at least one of a plurality of sets of data, each set of data including a plurality of values indicative of radiation diffracted and/or reflected and/or scattered by one or more features fabricated in or on a substrate, wherein the plurality of sets of data include at least one known value, and wherein at least one of the plurality of sets of data includes an unknown value, the apparatus including a processor to estimate the unknown value of the at least one set of data based on: the known values of the plurality of sets of data, a first condition between two or more values within a set of data of the plurality of sets of data, and a second condition between two or more values being part of different sets of data of the plurality of the sets of data.

Embodiments described herein provide a method for cleaning contamination from sensors in a lithography tool without requiring recalibrating the lithography tool. More particularly, embodiments described herein teach cleaning the sensors using hydrogen radicals for a short period while the performance drifting is still above the drift tolerance. After a cleaning process described herein, the lithography tool can resume production without recalibration.

When a transition from a first state where one stage is positioned at a first area directly below projection optical system to which liquid is supplied to a state where the other stage-is positioned at the first area, both stages are simultaneously driven while a state where both stages are close together in a direction is maintained. Therefore, it becomes possible to make a transition from the first state to the second state in a state where liquid is supplied in the space between the projection optical system and the specific stage directly under the projection optical system. Because the liquid can constantly exist on the image plane side of the projection optical system, generation of water marks on optical members of the projection optical system on the image plane side is prevented.

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.

The invention relates to a method for examining a photolithographic mask for the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelength range in a mask metrology apparatus. In this method, at least one structured region of the mask is selected, a scanner photon number in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelength range for which the mask in the lithographic production run is provided and a metrology photon number in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) wavelength range with which the measurement is performed are determined. Next, a photon statistics examination mode is established on the basis of the scanner photon number and the metrology photon number and at least one aerial image of the at least one structured region is produced with the mask metrology apparatus.

Techniques are provided that can select defects based on criticality of design pattern as well as defect attributes for process window qualification (PWQ). Defects are sorted into categories based on process conditions and similarity of design. Shape based grouping can be performed on the random defects. Highest design based grouping scores can be assigned to the bins, which are then sorted. Particular defects can be selected from the bins. These defects may be reviewed.

Position information of a movable body within an XY plane is measured with high accuracy by an encoder system whose measurement values have favorable short-term stability, without being affected by air fluctuations, and also position information of the movable body in a Z-axis direction orthogonal to the XY plane is measured with high accuracy by a surface position measuring system, without being affected by air fluctuations. In this case, since both of the encoder system and the surface position measuring system directly measure the upper surface of the movable body, simple and direct position control of the movable body can be performed.

A pattern measurement method includes forming a first pattern having a first size and a first brightness in a the first die area, forming a second pattern having a second size equal to the first size and a second brightness different from the first brightness in the first die area, obtaining a (1-1)-th measured size and a (1-1)-th measured brightness using a first measurement apparatus, and obtaining a (1-2)-th measured size and a (1-2)-th measured brightness using the first measurement apparatus, obtaining a (2-1)-th measured size and a (2-1)-th measured brightness using a second measurement apparatus, and obtaining a (2-2)-th measured size and a (2-2)-th measured brightness using the second measurement apparatus, and calibrating the first measurement apparatus and the second measurement apparatus based on first size correction data and first brightness correction data determined using the measured sizes and brightnesses.

A method and apparatus to measure overlay from images of metrology targets, images obtained using acoustic waves, for example images obtained using an acoustic microscope. The images of two targets are obtained, one image using acoustic waves and one image using optical waves, the edges of the images are determined and overlay between the two targets is obtained as the difference between the edges of the two images.