A method is described. The method includes obtaining a relationship between a thickness of a contamination layer formed on a mask and an amount of compensation energy to remove the contamination layer, obtaining a first thickness of a first contamination layer formed on the mask from a thickness measuring device, and applying first compensation energy calculated from the relationship to a light directed to the mask.

A method for determining a contribution of a processing apparatus to a fingerprint of a parameter across a substrate, the method including: obtaining a delta image which relates to a difference between a first pupil image associated with inspection of a first feature on the substrate and a second pupil image associated with inspection of a second feature on the substrate, wherein the first and second features have different dose sensitivities; determining a rate of change of the difference in response to a variation of a dose used to form the first and second features; selecting a plurality of pixels within the delta image having a rate of change above a predetermined threshold; and determining the contribution using the determined rate of change and the delta image restricted to the plurality of pixels.

Disclosed is a method of metrology. The method comprises illuminating a radiation onto a substrate; obtaining measurement data relating to at least one measurement of each of one or more structures on the substrate; using a Fourier-related transform to transform the measurement data into a transformed measurement data; and extracting a feature of the substrate from the transformed measurement data, or eliminating an impact of a nuisance parameter.

A multiple charged particle beam writing apparatus includes a margined block region generation circuit to generate plural margined block regions each formed by adding a margin region to the periphery of each block region of plural block regions obtained by dividing the writing region of the target object, a detection circuit to detect a defective beam in multiple charged particle beams, a specifying circuit to specify, for each defective beam detected, a position irradiated with the defective beam, and an affiliation determination circuit to determine a margined block region, in the plural margined block regions, to which the position irradiated with the defective beam belongs, based on conditions set according to a sub-block region, in plural sub-block regions acquired by dividing the margined block region, in which the position irradiated with the defective beam in the multiple charged particle beams is located.

A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device includes: providing a semiconductor wafer, and acquiring surface flatness information of the semiconductor wafer; determining an exposure parameter of the semiconductor wafer according to the surface flatness information of the semiconductor wafer; and exposing the semiconductor wafer according to the exposure parameter.

A process of characterizing a process window of a patterning process, the process including: obtaining a set of inspection locations for a pattern, the pattern defining features to be applied to a substrate with a patterning process, the set of inspection locations corresponding to a set of the features, the set of features being selected from among the features according to sensitivity of the respective features to variation in one or more process characteristics of the patterning process; patterning one or more substrates under varying process characteristics of the patterning process; and determining, for each of the variations in the process characteristics, whether at least some of the set of features yielded unacceptable patterned structures on the one or more substrates at corresponding inspection locations.

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes dividing a number of dies along an x axis in a die matrix in each exposure field in an exposure field matrix delineated on the semiconductor substrate, wherein the x axis is parallel to one edge of a smallest rectangle enclosing the exposure field matrix. A number of dies is divided along a y axis in the die matrix, wherein the y axis is perpendicular to the x axis. Sequences SNx0, SNx1, SNx, SNxr, SNy0, SNy1, SNy, and SNyr are formed. p*(Nbx+1)−2 stepping operations are performed in a third direction and first sequence exposure/stepping/exposure operations and second sequence exposure/stepping/exposure operations are performed alternately between any two adjacent stepping operations as well as before a first stepping operation and after a last stepping operation. A distance of each stepping operation in order follows the sequence SNx.

A critical dimension uniformity control method is provided. The method includes gathering a first CDU by a first critical dimension from a first wafer after being processed by a first surface process. The method includes determining a first calibration process based on the first CDU. The determining includes an intra dose correction step for correcting reticle-dependent deviation, a thru-slit dose sensitivity correction step for correcting time-dependent deviation, and an inter dose correction step for correcting process-dependent deviation. The method includes calibrating the first surface process by the first calibration process to determine a second surface process different from the first surface process.

A system for deep ultraviolet (DUV) optical lithography includes an optical source apparatus including N optical oscillators, N being an integer number greater than or equal to two, and each of the N optical oscillators is configured to produce a pulse of light in response to an excitation signal; and a control system coupled to the optical source apparatus. The control system is configured to determine a corrected excitation signal for a first one of the N optical oscillators based on an input signal, the input signal including an energy property of a pulse of light produced by another one of the N optical oscillators.

A metrology system includes a light beam metrology apparatus configured to sense one or more aspects of an amplified light beam and to make adjustments to the amplified light beam based on the sensed one or more aspects; a target metrology apparatus configured to measure one or more properties of a modified target after a target has interacted with the amplified light beam, and to determine a moment when the modified target achieves a reference calibration state; and a control apparatus configured to: receive the reference calibration state and the moment at which the reference calibration state is achieved from the target metrology apparatus; determine a light beam calibration state of the amplified light beam based on the received reference calibration state and the moment at which the reference calibration state is achieved; and provide the light beam calibration state to the light beam metrology apparatus.