公开(公告)号：US12230469B2

公开(公告)日：2025-02-18

申请号：US17566518

申请日：2021-12-30

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Albertus Victor Gerardus Mangnus ,  Maikel Robert Goosen

IPC: H01J37/153 ,  H01J37/28

Abstract: Disclosed among other aspects is a charged particle inspection system including a phaseplate configured and arranged to modify the local phase of charged particles in a beam to reduce the effects of lens aberrations. The phaseplate is made up of an array of apertures with the voltage and/or a degree of obscuration of the apertures being controlled individually or in groups.

公开(公告)号：US20250053097A1

公开(公告)日：2025-02-13

申请号：US18716806

申请日：2022-11-22

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Kui-Jun HUANG ,  Liping REN

IPC: G03F7/00

Abstract: A correction to an error of overlay measurement which accounts for target structure asymmetry using a neural network is described. According to embodiments, an overlay measurement accuracy can be improved by accounting for multiple and/or asymmetric perturbations in the target structure. A trained neural network is described which generates a correction value for overlay measurement based on a measure of asymmetry. Based on an as-measured overlay measurement, which may not account for target structure asymmetry, and the correction value, a true overlay measurement is determined-which can exhibit improved accuracy and reduced uncertainty versus uncorrected values.

公开(公告)号：US20250044715A1

公开(公告)日：2025-02-06

申请号：US18717286

申请日：2022-12-05

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Ahmet Burak CUNBUL ,  Ferry ZIJP ,  Teunis Willem TUKKER ,  Peter Fernand William Jozef DENDAS ,  Abraham Franciscus Hubertus VAN GESSEL

IPC: G03F9/00

Abstract: A projection unit for a level sensor, the projection unit including: a first light pipe having a first inlet configured to receive radiation from a source and a first outlet; and a second light pipe having a second inlet configured to receive the radiation from the first light pipe and a second outlet. The unit may include a lens device configured to receive radiation from the second outlet and to output radiation having a predetermined distribution of intensity and irradiance.

公开(公告)号：US20250044710A1

公开(公告)日：2025-02-06

申请号：US18714547

申请日：2022-12-13

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Jiyou FU ,  Jing SU ,  Chenxi LIN ,  Jiao LIANG ,  Guangqing CHEN ,  Yi ZOU

IPC: G03F7/00 ,  G03F9/00 ,  G06T7/00 ,  G06T7/33 ,  H01L21/66

Abstract: A method of image template matching for multiple process layers of, for example, semiconductor substrate with an adaptive weight map is described. An image template is provided with a weight map, which is adaptively updated based during template matching based on the position of the image template on the image. A method of template matching a grouped pattern or artifacts in a composed template is described, wherein the pattern comprises deemphasized areas weighted less than the image templates. A method of generating an image template based on a synthetic image is described. The synthetic image can be generated based on process and image modeling. A method of selecting a grouped pattern or artifacts and generating a composed template is described. A method of per layer image template matching is described.

公开(公告)号：US12217927B2

公开(公告)日：2025-02-04

申请号：US17633556

申请日：2020-08-04

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Jian Zhang ,  Ning Ye ,  Zhiwen Kang ,  Yixiang Wang

IPC: H01J37/26 ,  G02B27/09 ,  H01J37/02 ,  H01J37/28

Abstract: A system and a method for manipulating a beam of an Advanced Charge Controller module in different planes in an e-beam system are provided. Some embodiments of the system include a lens system configured to manipulate a beam in the tangential plane and the sagittal plane such that the beam spot is projected onto the wafer with high luminous energy. Some embodiments of the system include a lens system comprising at least two cylindrical lens.

公开(公告)号：US20250037966A1

公开(公告)日：2025-01-30

申请号：US18910626

申请日：2024-10-09

Applicant: ASML Netherlands B.V.

Inventor： Jinmei YANG ,  Jian ZHANG ,  Zhiwen KANG ,  Yixiang WANG

IPC: H01J37/28 ,  G01N23/2251 ,  H01J37/26

Abstract: A sensor may be used to measure a degree of tilt of a sample. The sensor may include an apparatus having a light source, first, second, and third optical elements, a lens, and an aperture. The first optical element may supply light from the light source toward the sample, and may supply light input into the first optical element from the sample toward the second optical element. The second optical element may supply light toward first and second sensing elements. An aperture may be arranged on a focal plane of the lens. A light beam incident on the first sensing element may be a reference beam.

公开(公告)号：US20250031294A1

公开(公告)日：2025-01-23

申请号：US18716468

申请日：2022-12-07

Applicant: ASML Netherlands B.V.

Inventor： Roger Anton Marie TIMMERMANS ,  Alexander Evgenevich LINKOV ,  Bas Willem Johannes Johanna Anna VAN DORP ,  Thomas William Georg KHOURI ,  Paul Peter Anna Antonius BROM

IPC: H05G2/00 ,  G01B11/27 ,  G02B5/00 ,  G03F7/00

Abstract: An aperture for detecting a laser beam misalignment, the aperture comprising: a body including a first opening and defining a first axis; a beam dump; an optical element including a second opening wherein the first opening and the second opening are coaxial with the first axis, the optical element being configured to redirect a misaligned laser beam to a detector or to split a misaligned laser beam into at least two sub-beams; a laser beam detection system configured to detect laser light, wherein the optical element is configured to direct a first sub-beam to the beam dump, and to direct a second sub-beam to the laser beam detection system. Also described is an aperture including an enclosure, a method of detecting misalignment of a laser beam, a radiation source comprising such an aperture, a lithographic apparatus comprising such a radiation source or aperture, and the use of the same in a lithographic apparatus or method.

公开(公告)号：US20250028254A1

公开(公告)日：2025-01-23

申请号：US18712560

申请日：2022-10-27

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V.

Inventor： Huaichen ZHANG ,  Vadim Yourievich TIMOSHKOV ,  Cyrus Emil TABERY ,  Marc HAUPTMANN ,  Oleksandr KHODKO

IPC: G03F7/00

Abstract: A method for determining a mechanical property of a layer applied to a substrate. The method includes obtaining input data including metrology data relating to the layer and layout data relating to a layout of a pattern to be applied in the layer. A first model or first model term is used to determine a global mechanical property related to the layer based on at least the input data; and at least one second model or at least one second model term is used to predict a mechanical property distribution or associated overlay map based on the first mechanical property and the layout data, the mechanical property distribution describing the mechanical property variation over the layer.

公开(公告)号：US20250021020A1

公开(公告)日：2025-01-16

申请号：US18712057

申请日：2022-11-03

Applicant: ASML Netherlands B.V.

Inventor： Patrick Philipp HELFENSTEIN ,  Sandy Claudia SCHOLZ ,  Loes Frederique VAN RIJSWIJK ,  Scott Anderson MIDDLEBROOKS

IPC: G03F7/00

Abstract: A measurement process is performed for each of a plurality of locations on a product of a fabrication process at which a parameter of interest characterizing the fabrication process is believed to be nominally the same, to derive measured signals for each location including at least one image. A dimensional reduction method is applied to a dataset of the measured signals, to obtain components of the dataset, including components indicative of variation between the images. For at least one of these components, one or more associated ones of the measured signals are identified, comprising at least one set of corresponding pixels in the respective images for the plurality of locations. The contribution of the identified measured signals in the dataset is reduced or eliminated to obtain a processed signal, and the parameter of interest is obtained from the processed signal.

公开(公告)号：US20250021009A1

公开(公告)日：2025-01-16

申请号：US18714411

申请日：2022-11-22

Applicant: ASML NETHERLANDS B.V. P.O.

Inventor： Ferry ZIJP

IPC: G03F7/00 ,  G03F7/20 ,  H01J61/16 ,  H01J61/30 ,  H01J61/33

Abstract: An optical assembly includes a bulb and a lens for a laser-operated light source. The bulb has a chamber for accommodating an ionizable gas and a plasma formed by energizing the ionizable gas and has a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis. In use, the lens is arranged to focus a wavefront of radiation from a laser to a virtual object point located inside the chamber. In use, the bulb is arranged to transmit and refract the wavefront of the radiation to a first real image point in a first cross-section of the longitudinal axis and a second real image point in a second cross-section of the transverse axis. The first real image point and the second real image point are image conjugates of the virtual object point. The virtual object point, the first real image point and the second real image point coincide.