Abstract: A method of determining exposure dose of a lithographic apparatus used in a lithographic process on a substrate, the method comprising the steps: (a) receiving a substrate comprising first and second structures produced using the lithographic process; (b) detecting scattered radiation while illuminating the first structure with radiation to obtain a first scatterometer signal; (c) detecting scattered radiation while illuminating the second structure with radiation to obtain a second scatterometer signal; (d) using the first and second scatterometer signals to determine an exposure dose value used to produce said first and second structures wherein the first structure has a first periodic characteristic with spatial characteristics and yet at least another second periodic characteristic with spatial characteristics designed to be affected by the exposure dose and the second structure has a first periodic characteristic with spatial characteristics and yet at least another second periodic characteristic with sp

Abstract: A method includes receiving a register-transfer-level description and a gate-level description for an integrated circuit design. The gate-level description includes one or more spare latches implemented as reconfigurable latch filler cells. The method further includes receiving an engineering change order, and, responsive to the engineering change order, adding the at least one additional latch to the register-transfer-level description and, for at least one of the at least one additional latch, selecting one of the one or more spare latches in the register-transfer-level description to yield a selected spare latch. The method further includes, for the selected spare latch, identifying a selected reconfigurable latch filler cell in the gate-level description and replacing the selected reconfigurable latch filler cell with an operational latch in the gate-level description. The method further includes finalizing the integrated circuit design.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method includes identifying an in initial register-transfer-level description for an integrated circuit design and adding one or more spare latches to the initial register-transfer-level description to yield a modified register-transfer-level description for the integrated circuit design. The computer-implemented method further includes performing placement and routing for the modified register-transfer-level description to yield a gate-level description for the integrated circuit design. The one or more spare latches exist in said gate-level description. The computer-implemented method further includes converting at least one of the one or more spare latches in the gate-level description into a reconfigurable latch filler cell to yield a modified gate-level description for the integrated circuit design and finalizing the integrated circuit design. A corresponding computer program product and computer system are also disclosed.

Abstract: A method of determining overlay of a patterning process, the method including: illuminating a substrate with a radiation beam such that a beam spot on the substrate is filled with one or more physical instances of a unit cell, the unit cell having geometric symmetry at a nominal value of overlay; detecting primarily zeroth order radiation redirected by the one or more physical instances of the unit cell using a detector; and determining, by a hardware computer system, a non-nominal value of overlay of the unit cell from values of an optical characteristic of the detected radiation.

Abstract: A method of configuring a parameter determination process, the method including: obtaining a mathematical model of a structure, the mathematical model configured to predict an optical response when illuminating the structure with a radiation beam and the structure having geometric symmetry at a nominal physical configuration; using, by a hardware computer system, the mathematical model to simulate a perturbation in the physical configuration of the structure of a certain amount to determine a corresponding change of the optical response in each of a plurality of pixels to obtain a plurality of pixel sensitivities; and based on the pixel sensitivities, determining a plurality of weights for combination with measured pixel optical characteristic values of the structure on a substrate to yield a value of a parameter associated with change in the physical configuration, each weight corresponding to a pixel.

Abstract: A method of determining overlay of a patterning process, the method including: obtaining a detected representation of radiation redirected by one or more physical instances of a unit cell, wherein the unit cell has geometric symmetry at a nominal value of overlay and wherein the detected representation of the radiation was obtained by illuminating a substrate with a radiation beam such that a beam spot on the substrate was filled with the one or more physical instances of the unit cell; and determining, from optical characteristic values from the detected radiation representation, a value of a first overlay for the unit cell separately from a second overlay for the unit cell that is also obtainable from the same optical characteristic values, wherein the first overlay is in a different direction than the second overlay or between a different combination of parts of the unit cell than the second overlay.

Abstract: A method of determining a parameter of a patterning process, the method including: obtaining a detected representation of radiation redirected by a structure having geometric symmetry at a nominal physical configuration, wherein the detected representation of the radiation was obtained by illuminating a substrate with a radiation beam such that a beam spot on the substrate was filled with the structure; and determining, by a hardware computer system, a value of the patterning process parameter based on optical characteristic values from an asymmetric optical characteristic distribution portion of the detected radiation representation with higher weight than another portion of the detected radiation representation, the asymmetric optical characteristic distribution arising from a different physical configuration of the structure than the nominal physical configuration.

Abstract: A metrology target includes: a first structure arranged to be created by a first patterning process; and a second structure arranged to be created by a second patterning process, wherein the first structure and/or second structure is not used to create a functional aspect of a device pattern, and wherein the first and second structures together form one or more instances of a unit cell, the unit cell having geometric symmetry at a nominal physical configuration and wherein the unit cell has a feature that causes, at a different physical configuration than the nominal physical configuration due to a relative shift in pattern placement in the first patterning process, the second patterning process and/or another patterning process, an asymmetry in the unit cell.

Abstract: This disclosure includes a variety of methods of describing a shape in a hierarchical manner, and uses of such a hierarchical description. In particular, this disclosure includes a method comprising: fitting one or more sub-shapes of a first order against a shape; determining an error of the fitting; and fitting one or more sub-shapes of a second order against the error.

Abstract: A substrate has first and second target structures formed thereon by a lithographic process. Each target structure has two-dimensional periodic structure formed in a single material layer on a substrate using first and second lithographic steps, wherein, in the first target structure, features defined in the second lithographic step are displaced relative to features defined in the first lithographic step by a first bias amount that is close to one half of a spatial period of the features formed in the first lithographic step, and, in the second target structure, features defined in the second lithographic step are displaced relative to features defined in the first lithographic step by a second bias amount close to one half of said spatial period and different to the first bias amount.

Abstract: A method of determining exposure dose of a lithographic apparatus used in a lithographic process on a substrate, the method comprising the steps: (a) receiving a substrate comprising first and second structures produced using the lithographic process; (b) detecting scattered radiation while illuminating the first structure with radiation to obtain a first scatterometer signal; (c) detecting scattered radiation while illuminating the second structure with radiation to obtain a second scatterometer signal; (d) using the first and second scatterometer signals to determine an exposure dose value used to produce said first and second structures wherein the first structure has a first periodic characteristic with spatial characteristics and yet at least another second periodic characteristic with spatial characteristics designed to be affected by the exposure dose and the second structure has a first periodic characteristic with spatial characteristics and yet at least another second periodic characteristic with sp

Abstract: Network architectural roles of packet switching devices are automatically determined by retrieving and analyzing configuration information of the packet switching devices. The retrieved configuration information typically includes operational details of the packet switching operations performed by the packet switching device, with these retrieved operational details being analyzed in order to identify one or more network architectural roles being performed by a particular packet switching device. Examples of such identified network architectural role include, but are not limited to, a customer edge device, a provider edge device, and a user-facing provider edge device. Knowing the architectural role performed by a packet switching device is useful for operations, administration, maintenance and provisioning of networks of these packet switching devices.

Abstract: Discovering a network service topology of a virtual private network (VPN) that uses multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) comprises receiving route target values from a virtual private network (VPN) route forwarding table (VRF table) of a networking device; determining and storing in a table one or more link pairs based on the route target values, wherein each of the link pairs indicates a connection between a first site and a second site within the VPN; creating a set of VPN objects based on an association between a first VPN object and the one or more link pairs stored in the table, wherein each of the VPN objects includes information indicating connectivity between a subset of sites from a plurality of sites within the VPN; and determining the topology for the first VPN object based on applying one or more topology rules to the subset of sites within the first VPN object.

Abstract: Network architectural roles of packet switching devices are automatically determined by retrieving and analyzing configuration information of the packet switching devices. The retrieved configuration information typically includes operational details of the packet switching operations performed by the packet switching device, with these retrieved operational details being analyzed in order to identify one or more network architectural roles being performed by a particular packet switching device. Examples of such identified network architectural role include, but are not limited to, a customer edge device, a provider edge device, and a user-facing provider edge device. Knowing the architectural role performed by a packet switching device is useful for operations, administration, maintenance and provisioning of networks of these packet switching devices.

Abstract: Discovering a network service topology of a virtual private network (VPN) that uses multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) comprises receiving route target values from a virtual private network (VPN) route forwarding table (VRF table) of a networking device; determining and storing in a table one or more link pairs based on the route target values, wherein each of the link pairs indicates a connection between a first site and a second site within the VPN; creating a set of VPN objects based on an association between a first VPN object and the one or more link pairs stored in the table, wherein each of the VPN objects includes information indicating connectivity between a subset of sites from a plurality of sites within the VPN; and determining the topology for the first VPN object based on applying one or more topology rules to the subset of sites within the first VPN object.

Abstract: A liquid drop emitter, a method of mixing a liquid, and a method of printing are provided. The liquid emitter includes a structure defining a chamber adapted to provide a liquid having an orifice through which a drop of the liquid can be emitted. A drop forming mechanism is operatively associated with the chamber. A mixing mechanism is associated with the chamber and is operable to create a surface tension gradient on the liquid provided by the chamber such that the liquid flows without being emitted from the chamber.

Abstract: A process for the deposition of a thin film of a desired material on a surface comprising: (i) providing a continuous stream of amorphous solid particles of desired material suspended in at least one carrier gas, the solid particles having a volume-weighted mean particle diameter of less than 500 nm, at an average stream temperature below the glass transition temperature of the solid particles of desired material, (ii) passing the stream provided in (i) into a heating zone, and heating the stream in the heating zone to elevate the average stream temperature to above the glass transition temperature of the solid particles of desired material, wherein no substantial chemical transformation of the desired material occurs due to heating of the desired material, (iii) exhausting the heated stream from the heating zone through at least one distributing passage, at a rate substantially equal to its rate of addition to the heating zone in step (ii), wherein the carrier gas does not undergo a thermodynamic phase chang

Abstract: A liquid drop emitter, a method of mixing a liquid, and a method of printing are provided. The liquid emitter includes a structure defining a chamber adapted to provide a liquid having an orifice through which a drop of the liquid can be emitted. A drop forming mechanism is operatively associated with the chamber. A mixing mechanism is associated with the chamber and is operable to create a surface tension gradient on the liquid provided by the chamber such that the liquid flows without being emitted from the chamber.