Method and machine utilizes the real-time recipe to perform weak point inspection on a series of wafers during the fabrication of integrated circuits. Each real-time recipe essentially corresponds to a practical fabrication history of a wafer to be examined and/or the examination results of at least one examined wafer of same lot. Therefore, different wafers can be examined by using different recipes where each recipe corresponds to a specific condition of a wafer to be examined, even these wafers are received by a machine for examining at the same time.

Methods and systems for determining characteristic(s) of patterned feature(s) on a specimen are provided. One system includes a computer subsystem configured for comparing one or more images of a specimen generated by an imaging subsystem with one or more modes, respectively, to rendered images generated for the one or more modes and at least one instance of a design for the specimen corresponding to at least one of different values of at least one characteristic of one or more patterned features in the design. The computer subsystem is also configured for determining one or more quality merits for results of the comparing and optimizing the one or more quality merits using an optimization method. In addition, the computer subsystem is configured for determining characteristic(s) of the patterned feature(s) on the specimen from results of the optimizing.

A system includes a memory and at least one processing device, operatively coupled with the memory, to obtain metrology data with respect to a substrate, cause a lithography process to be performed using the metrology data to obtain a patterned substrate to be processed, and after performing the lithography process, cause a shortwave infrared (SWIR) inspection system to inspect the patterned substrate by focus averaging a plurality of images of the patterned substrate. Each image of the plurality of images corresponds to a respective SWIR wavelength of a plurality of SWIR wavelengths.

A measurement apparatus which measures a relative positional displacement amount of a partial pattern to another pattern in a complex pattern on a surface of an object, includes: a measurement part to measure two-dimensional intensity distributions having a first and a second two-dimensional intensity distribution, the first distribution being formed by applying first light having a first shape to a region on which the complex pattern is measured and detecting only zero order diffraction light from the region via a first filter, and the second distribution being formed by applying second light having a second shape to the region and detecting only zero order diffraction light from the region via a second filter; a storage part to store measurement data indicating the distributions; and a calculation part to form a synthesized intensity distribution obtained by the two-dimensional intensity distributions to calculate a positional displacement amount of the partial pattern.

Disclosed is a metrology method. The method comprises illuminating a target comprising one or more sub-targets on a substrate using underfilled illumination such that an illumination beam profile underfills each of said one or more sub-targets; capturing scattered radiation resultant from said illuminating the target; imaging the scattered radiation at a detection image plane to obtain an image; and determining a parameter of interest from the imaged scattered radiation.

A method includes a run-to-run controller to obtain metrology data. The run-to-run controller is associated with a process chamber. The metrology data is of a first substrate. The first substrate has been processed in the process chamber in accordance with a processing operation. The run-to-run controller includes a first model, configured to determine a relationship between substrate metrology and one or more process knob inputs. The run-to-run controller includes a second model, which is configured to recommend one or more corrective actions based on output generated by the first model. The method further includes processing the metrology data by the first model to determine a relationship between the metrology data of the substrate and process knobs of the first processing operation. The method further includes determining, by the second model, a recommended one or more process recipe updates. The method further includes updating a recipe of the processing operation.

An overlay measurement device includes a light source configured to direct an illumination to an overlay measurement target in which a first overlay key in a first layer and a second overlay key in a second layer are positioned, the second layer being stacked on an upper portion or a lower portion of the first layer, a lens assembly including an objective lens configured to condense the illumination on a measurement position of at least one point in the overlay measurement target and a lens focus actuator configured to control a distance between the objective lens and the overlay measurement target, and a detector configured to acquire a focus image at the measurement position based on a beam reflected on the measurement position.

Disclosed is a metrology method. The method comprises obtaining measurement data relating to measurement of at least one target using two or more different illumination profiles; and a respective parameter of interest value for a parameter of interest for each of said two or more different illumination profiles. The method described determining, from said measurement data, a respective measurement parameter deviation value for each of said two or more different illumination profiles, said measurement parameter deviation value describing a deviation in a measurement parameter with respect to a measurement parameter value attributed to a region of interest of said target or a sub-target thereof; determining a relationship for the target between the parameter of interest values and the measurement parameter deviation values; and determining one or both of a corrected parameter of interest value and a preferred illumination profile from said relationship.

A structure including a first grating at a first pitch in a first layer of a multi-layer stack structure; and a second grating at a second pitch in a second layer of the multi-layer stack structure, wherein, when illuminated by incident radiation, scattered radiation from the measurement structure forms an interference pattern at a detector, wherein the interference pattern includes at least a first Moire interference component and a second Moire interference component. A method for measuring a parameter of interest in a manufacturing process based on the measurement structure, which includes obtaining an interference pattern for the measurement structure, identifying a first Moire interference component and identifying a second Moire interference component in the interference pattern; and determining the measurement of a parameter of interest based on the first Moire interference component and the second Moire interference component.

A method including: obtaining a detected representation of radiation redirected by each of a plurality of structures from a substrate additionally having a device pattern thereon, wherein each structure has an intentional different physical configuration of the respective structure than the respective nominal physical configuration of the respective structure, wherein each structure has geometric symmetry at the respective nominal physical configuration, wherein the intentional different physical configuration of the structure causes an asymmetric optical characteristic distribution and wherein a patterning process parameter measures change in the physical configuration; and determining a value, based on the detected representations and based on the intentional different physical configurations, to setup, monitor or correct a measurement recipe for determining the patterning process parameter.