A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes forming an underlying structure in a first area and a second area over a substrate. A first layer is formed over the underlying structure. The first layer is removed from the second area while protecting the first layer in the first area. A second layer is formed over the first area and the second area, wherein the second layer has a smaller light transparency than the first layer. The second layer is removed from the first area, and first resist pattern is formed over the first layer in the first area and a second resist pattern over the second layer in the second area.

A method for manufacturing an electronic device is provided, the method includes: providing an inspection module to inspect a first area of the electronic device to obtain a first information and inspect a second area of the electronic device to obtain a second information; transmitting the first information and the second information to a processing system; comparing the first information and the second information to obtain a difference; and transmitting a correction information to a first process machine via a first interface system. When the difference is greater than or equal to -2 and less than or equal to 2, the first process machine is started to produce. An electronic device is also provided.

A process of overlay offset measurement includes providing a substrate; forming a first pattern layer with a predetermined first pattern on the substrate; forming a first photoresist layer on the substrate and the first pattern layer; forming a second photoresist layer on the first photoresist layer; forming a second pattern layer with a predetermined second pattern on the second photoresist layer; patterning the second photoresist layer to form a trench having a predetermined third pattern being substantially aligned with the predetermined first pattern of the first pattern layer; and performing overlay offset measurement according to the second pattern layer and the trench.

A method including performing a simulation to evaluate a plurality of metrology targets and/or a plurality of metrology recipes used to measure a metrology target, identifying one or more metrology targets and/or metrology recipes from the evaluated plurality of metrology targets and/or metrology recipes, receiving measurement data of the one or more identified metrology targets and/or metrology recipes, and using the measurement data to tune a metrology target parameter or metrology recipe parameter.

An information processing apparatus includes an acquisition unit configured to acquire process information about a substrate process, the process information including process data and a process condition, and a display control unit configured to control a display on a display apparatus based on the process information acquired by the acquisition unit, wherein the display control unit selectively displays, on the display apparatus, a first screen that displays the process data of a lot including a plurality of substrates on a lot-by-lot basis and a second screen that displays the process data of a first lot on a substrate-by-substrate basis, the first lot being a lot designated by a user from the lot displayed on the first screen.

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.

Methods for calibrating metrology apparatuses and determining a parameter of interest are disclosed. In one arrangement, training data is provided that comprises detected representations of scattered radiation detected by each of plural metrology apparatuses. An encoder encodes each detected representation to provide an encoded representation, and a decoder generates a synthetic detected representation from the respective encoded representation. A classifier estimates from which metrology apparatus originates each encoded representation or each synthetic detected representation. The training data is used to simultaneously perform, in an adversarial relationship relative to each other, a first machine learning process involving the encoder or decoder and a second machine learning process involving the classifier.

Optically determining whether metallic features in different layers in a structure are in electrical contact with each other. When the metallic features include different metals and/or have different dimensions, which cause one or more resonances in reflected radiation to be detected, the metallic features in the different layers are determined to be in contact or out of contact with each other based on the spectral positions of the one or more resonances. When the metallic features are formed from the same metal and have the same dimensions, the metallic features in the different layers are determined to be in contact with each other responsive to detection of a single resonance associated with the metallic features and out of contact with each other responsive to detection of two or more resonances associated with the metallic features.

A detection system (200) includes an illumination system (210), a first optical system (232), a phase modulator (220), a lock-in detector (255), and a function generator (230). The illumination system is configured to transmit an illumination beam (218) along an illumination path. The first optical system is configured to transmit the illumination beam toward a diffraction target (204) on a substrate (202). The first optical system is further configured to transmit a signal beam including diffraction order sub-beams (222, 224, 226) that are diffracted by the diffraction target. The phase modulator is configured to modulate the illumination beam or the signal beam based on a reference signal. The lock-in detector is configured to collect the signal beam and to measure a characteristic of the diffraction target based on the signal beam and the reference signal. The function generator is configured to generate the reference signal for the phase modulator and the lock-in detector.

A scatterometry measurement system includes an objective lens with a central obscuration and an illumination source configured to illuminate a scatterometry target through the objective lens with a first illumination beam at a first illumination angle and a second illumination beam at a second illumination angle in which the scatterometry target includes periodic structures located in at least two layers. The objective lens collects at least one diffracted order from the first illumination beam and at least one diffracted order from the second illumination beam such that the at least one diffracted order from the first illumination beam and the at least one diffracted order from the second illumination beam have a non-overlapping distribution in a portion of an imaging pupil plane not blocked by the central obscuration.