Abstract: A method for semiconductor metrology includes depositing first and second overlying film layers on a semiconductor substrate and patterning the layers to define an overlay target. The target includes a first grating pattern in the first layer, including at least a first linear grating oriented in a first direction and at least a second linear grating oriented in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and a second grating pattern in the second layer, including at least a third linear grating identical to the first linear grating and a fourth linear grating identical to the second linear grating. The second grating pattern has a nominal offset relative to the first grating pattern by first and second displacements in the first and second directions, respectively. A scatterometric image of the substrate is captured and processed to estimate an overlay error between the patterning of the first and second layers.

Abstract: An overlay metrology system with pitches in multiple directions in a single cell is disclosed. The overlay target may, according to a metrology recipe, include a multi-layer structure on two or more layers of a cell of the sample. The multi-layer structure may include structures in each layer having one or more pitches in one or more directions of periodicity. The multi-layer structure may include structures with a first pitch in a first direction, a second pitch in a second direction, a third pitch in the first direction, and a fourth pitch in the second direction. At least one of the first pitch or the third pitch may be different than at least one of the second pitch or the fourth pitch.

Abstract: An overlay metrology target may include grating-over-grating structures formed from a lower grating structure with a first coarse pitch in a first sample layer and an upper grating structure with a second coarse pitch in a second sample layer, where the upper and lower grating structures overlap on the sample. At least one of the upper grating structure or the lower grating structure may include features with a fine pitch smaller than a wavelength of an illumination beam and arranged to rotate first-order diffraction of the illumination beam associated with at least one of the first or second coarse pitches with respect to at least one of specular reflection from a top surface of the sample or zero-order diffraction from the one or more grating structures. Overlay between the first and second layers of the sample is determinable from an image of the grating structures based on the first-order diffraction.

Abstract: A system for generating light, comprises a spectral light source, characterized by a spectral line shape described by a visibility function; and a multimode waveguide, characterized by an optical path difference distribution described by a standard deviation. The standard deviation typically matches, within a predetermined tolerance, a location of a zero point of the visibility function at which a contrast of the visibility function is less than 0.1.

Abstract: A method of measuring misregistration in the manufacture of semiconductor device wafers including providing a multilayered semiconductor device wafer including at least a first layer and a second layer including at least one misregistration measurement target including a first periodic structure formed together with the first layer having a first pitch and a second periodic structure formed together with the second layer having a second pitch, imaging the first layer and the second layer at a depth of focus and using light having at least one first wavelength that causes images of both the first layer and the second layer to appear in at least one plane within the depth of focus and quantifying offset in the at least one plane between the images of the first layer and the second layer, thereby to calculate misregistration of the first layer and the second layer.

Abstract: A metrology system may include an imaging sub-system including one or more lenses and a detector to image a sample, where the sample includes metrology target elements on two or more sample layers. The metrology system may further include a controller to determine layer-specific imaging configurations of the imaging sub-system to image the metrology target elements on the two or more sample layers within a selected image quality tolerance, where each layer-specific imaging configuration includes a selected configuration of one or more components of the imaging sub-system. The controller may further receive, from the imaging sub-system, one or more images of the metrology target elements on the two or more sample layers generated using the layer-specific imaging configurations. The controller may further provide a metrology measurement based on the one or more images of the metrology target elements on the two or more sample layers.

Abstract: A method for metrology includes directing at least one illumination beam to illuminate a semiconductor wafer on which at least first and second patterned layers have been deposited in succession, including a first target feature in the first patterned layer and a second target feature in the second patterned layer, overlaid on the first target feature. A sequence of images of the first and second target features is captured while varying one or more imaging parameters over the sequence. The images in the sequence are processed in order to identify respective centers of symmetry of the first and second target features in the images and measure variations in the centers of symmetry as a function of the varying image parameters. The measured variations are applied in measuring an overlay error between the first and second patterned layers.

Abstract: An overlay metrology system may include an illumination source and illumination optics to illuminate an overlay target on a sample with illumination from the illumination source as the sample is in motion with respect to the illumination from the illumination source in accordance with a measurement recipe. The overlay target may include one or more cells, where a single cell is suitable for measurement along a particular direction. Such a cell may include two or more gratings with different pitches. Further, the system may include two or more photodetectors, each configured to capture three diffraction lobes from the two or more grating structures. The system may further include a controller to determine an overlay measurement associated with each cell of the overlay target.

Abstract: An overlay metrology system may include illumination sources configured to generate one or more pairs of mutually coherent illumination beams and illumination optics to direct the pairs of illumination beams to an overlay target at common altitude incidence angles and symmetrically opposed azimuthal incidence angles, where the overlay target includes two or more grating structures distributed along one or more measurement directions. The system may further include imaging optics to image the overlay target onto detectors when implementing the metrology recipe, where an image of a particular one of the two or more grating structures is generated exclusively with a single non-zero diffraction order of light from each of the illumination beams within the particular one of the pairs of illumination beams. The system may further include a controller to determine overlay measurements based on images of the overlay target.

Abstract: Metrology is performed on a semiconductor wafer using a system with an apodizer. A spot is formed on the semiconductor wafer with a diameter from 2 nm to 5 nm. The associated beam of light has a wavelength from 400 nm to 800 nm. Small target measurement can be performed at a range of optical wavelengths.

Abstract: An overlay metrology system may include an illumination source and illumination optics to illuminate an overlay target on a sample with illumination from the illumination source as the sample is in motion with respect to the illumination from the illumination source in accordance with a measurement recipe. The overlay target may include one or more cells, where a single cell is suitable for measurement along a particular direction. Such a cell may include two or more gratings with different pitches. Further, the system may include two or more photodetectors, each configured to capture three diffraction lobes from the two or more grating structures. The system may further include a controller to determine an overlay measurement associated with each cell of the overlay target.

Abstract: A method for correcting misregistration measurements of a semiconductor wafer for errors therein arising from tilt of the wafer including measuring, for at least one location on a wafer, a difference between a Tool Induced Shift (TIS) of a metrology device in a first illumination arrangement with respect to the wafer wherein a surface of the wafer is generally orthogonally illuminated by an illumination source of the metrology device and a TIS of the metrology device in a second illumination arrangement with respect to the wafer, wherein the surface is obliquely illuminated by the illumination source, and correcting a misregistration measurement measured by the metrology device at the at least one location for errors therein arising from tilt of the wafer at the location by subtracting from the misregistration measurement a weighted value of the difference between the TIS in the first and second illumination arrangements.

Abstract: A method for metrology includes directing at least one illumination beam to illuminate a semiconductor wafer on which at least first and second patterned layers have been deposited in succession, including a first target feature in the first patterned layer and a second target feature in the second patterned layer, overlaid on the first target feature. A sequence of images of the first and second target features is captured while varying one or more imaging parameters over the sequence. The images in the sequence are processed in order to identify respective centers of symmetry of the first and second target features in the images and measure variations in the centers of symmetry as a function of the varying image parameters. The measured variations are applied in measuring an overlay error between the first and second patterned layers.

Abstract: A system and method of measuring misregistration in the manufacture of semiconductor device wafers is disclosed. A first layer and the second layer are imaged in a first orientation with a misregistration metrology tool employing light having at least one first wavelength that causes images of both the first periodic structure and the second periodic structure to appear in at least two planes that are mutually separated by a perpendicular distance greater than 0.2 ?m. The first layer and the second layer are imaged in a second orientation with the misregistration metrology tool employing light having the at least one first wavelength that causes images of both the first periodic structure and the second periodic structure to appear in the at least two planes. At least one parameter of the misregistration metrology tool is adjusted based on the resulting analysis.

Abstract: An adaptive modeling method for generating misregistration data for a semiconductor device wafer (SDW) including calculating a fitting function for a group of SDWs (GSDW) having units, including measuring an SDW in said GSDW, thereby generating test data sets corresponding to the units, removing non-unit-specific values (NUSVs) from the test data sets, thereby generating cleaned test data sets, and analyzing the cleaned test data sets, thereby generating the fitting function, and generating misregistration data for at least one additional SDW (ASDW) in the GSDW, including measuring the ASDW, thereby generating run data sets, removing NUSVs from the run data sets, thereby generating cleaned run data sets, fitting each of the cleaned run data sets to the fitting function, thereby generating coefficient sets, and calculating misregistration data for the ASDW, at least partially based on the fitting function and the coefficient sets.

Abstract: A system and method for generating a quality parameter value of a semiconductor device wafer (SDW), during fabrication thereof, the method including designating a plurality of measurement site sets (MSSs) on the SDW, each of the MSSs including a first measurement-orientation site (FMS) and a second measurement-orientation site (SMS), the FMS and the SMS being different measurement sites on the SDW, generating a first measurement-orientation quality parameter dataset (FMQPD) by measuring features formed within each the FMS of at least one of the MSSs in a first measurement orientation, generating a second measurement-orientation quality parameter dataset (SMQPD) by measuring features formed within each the SMS of the at least one of the MSSs in a second measurement orientation and generating at least one tool-induced-shift (TIS)-ameliorated quality parameter value (TAQPV), at least partially based on the FMQPD and the SMQPD.

Abstract: A method for metrology includes directing at least one illumination beam to illuminate a semiconductor wafer on which at least first and second patterned layers have been deposited in succession, including a first target feature in the first patterned layer and a second target feature in the second patterned layer, overlaid on the first target feature. A sequence of images of the first and second target features is captured while varying one or more imaging parameters over the sequence. The images in the sequence are processed in order to identify respective centers of symmetry of the first and second target features in the images and measure variations in the centers of symmetry as a function of the varying image parameters. The measured variations are applied in measuring an overlay error between the first and second patterned layers.

Abstract: A system for use with a misregistration metrology tool (MMT), the system including a database including a plurality of process variation (PV) categories and a corresponding plurality of parameter sets and a process variation accommodation engine (PVAE) including a measurement site process variation category associator (MSPVCA) operative to associate a measurement site being measured by the MMT, at least partially based on an MMT output relating to the measurement site, with a measurement site process variation category (MSPVC), the MSPVC being one of the plurality of PV categories, a measurement site parameter set retriever (MSPSR) operative to retrieve a measurement site parameter set (MSPS) corresponding to the MSPVC and a measurement site parameter set communicator (MSPSC) operative to communicate the MSPS to the MMT.

Abstract: A method of measuring misregistration in the manufacture of semiconductor device wafers including providing a multilayered semiconductor device wafer including at least a first layer and a second layer including at least one misregistration measurement target including a first periodic structure formed together with the first layer having a first pitch and a second periodic structure formed together with the second layer having a second pitch, imaging the first layer and the second layer at a depth of focus and using light having at least one first wavelength that causes images of both the first layer and the second layer to appear in at least one plane within the depth of focus and quantifying offset in the at least one plane between the images of the first layer and the second layer, thereby to calculate misregistration of the first layer and the second layer.

Abstract: A method of measuring misregistration in the manufacture of semiconductor device wafers including providing a multilayered semiconductor device wafer including at least a first layer and a second layer including at least one misregistration measurement target including a first periodic structure formed together with the first layer having a first pitch and a second periodic structure formed together with the second layer having a second pitch, imaging the first layer and the second layer at a depth of focus and using light having at least one first wavelength that causes images of both the first layer and the second layer to appear in at least one plane within the depth of focus and quantifying offset in the at least one plane between the images of the first layer and the second layer, thereby to calculate misregistration of the first layer and the second layer.