公开(公告)号：US20230324809A1

公开(公告)日：2023-10-12

申请号：US17715789

申请日：2022-04-07

Applicant: KLA Corporation

Inventor： Yoram Uziel ,  Ariel Hildesheim ,  Alexander Novikov ,  Amnon Manassen ,  Etay Lavert ,  Ohad Bachar ,  Yoav Grauer

IPC: G03F7/20

CPC classification number: G03F7/70633 ,  G03F7/70666 ,  G03F7/70775

Abstract: A metrology system includes an imaging system. The imaging system may include an objective lens. The metrology system may include one or more detectors. The metrology system may include an objective positioning stage structurally coupled to the objective lens and configured to adjust a focal plane of at least one of the one or more detectors via movement along an optical axis of the metrology system. The metrology system may include one or more proximity sensors configured to measure lateral positions of a stage element as the objective positioning stage moves along the optical axis. The metrology system may be configured to determine a metrology measurement associated with a target on a sample using the images and lateral positions of the stage element when implementing a metrology recipe.

公开(公告)号：US11719533B2

公开(公告)日：2023-08-08

申请号：US17214888

申请日：2021-03-28

Applicant: KLA Corporation

Inventor： David L. Brown ,  Andrew V. Hill ,  Amnon Manassen

IPC: G01B11/27

CPC classification number: G01B11/272 ,  G01B2210/56

Abstract: A method for imaging overlay targets on a wafer includes (1) using a sensor to acquire images of overlay targets on a wafer while the wafer is in motion and (2) accelerating and decelerating the wafer to move the overlay targets into alignment with the sensor between acquiring images of the overlay targets. Accelerating/decelerating the wafer may include: (1) accelerating the wafer at a maximum acceleration and then decelerating the wafer at a maximum deceleration, (2) accelerating/decelerating the wafer in a triangular waveform pattern, (3) accelerating/decelerating the wafer in a sinusoidal pattern, or (4) accelerating/decelerating the wafer in a near-sinusoidal pattern (created by combining a pure sinusoidal profile with one or more harmonic profiles). A system is also provided for implementing the above method(s).

公开(公告)号：US20230068016A1

公开(公告)日：2023-03-02

申请号：US17446161

申请日：2021-08-26

Applicant: KLA Corporation

Inventor： Alexander Novikov ,  Amnon Manassen ,  Ido Dolev ,  Yuri Paskover ,  Nir Ben David ,  Yoel Feler ,  Yoram Uziel

IPC: H01L21/66 ,  G01D18/00 ,  G01B21/04

Abstract: A system and method for generating an angular calibration factor (ACF) for a metrology tool useful in a fabrication process, the method including providing the metrology tool, the metrology tool including a stage and a housing, measuring a rotational orientation of the stage relative to the housing and generating the ACF for the stage based at least partially on the rotational orientation.

公开(公告)号：US11592755B2

公开(公告)日：2023-02-28

申请号：US17219869

申请日：2021-03-31

Applicant: KLA Corporation

Inventor： Amnon Manassen ,  Andrew Hill ,  Yonatan Vaknin ,  Yossi Simon ,  Daria Negri ,  Vladimir Levinski ,  Yuri Paskover ,  Anna Golotsvan ,  Nachshon Rothman ,  Nireekshan K. Reddy ,  Nir BenDavid ,  Avi Abramov ,  Dror Yaacov ,  Yoram Uziel ,  Nadav Gutman

IPC: G03F7/20 ,  G02B27/28 ,  H04N5/225

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.

公开(公告)号：US11573497B2

公开(公告)日：2023-02-07

申请号：US16647102

申请日：2020-02-14

Applicant: KLA CORPORATION

Inventor： Daria Negri ,  Amnon Manassen ,  Gilad Laredo

IPC: G03F7/20 ,  G06T7/00

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 μm. 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.

公开(公告)号：US20220392809A1

公开(公告)日：2022-12-08

申请号：US17705077

申请日：2022-03-25

Applicant: KLA Corporation

Inventor： Amnon Manassen ,  Vladimir Levinski ,  Daria Negri

IPC: H01L21/66 ,  G06K9/62 ,  G06F16/215

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.

公开(公告)号：US20220344218A1

公开(公告)日：2022-10-27

申请号：US17469280

申请日：2021-09-08

Applicant: KLA Corporation

Inventor： Liran Yerushalmi ,  Daria Negri ,  Ohad Bachar ,  Yossi Simon ,  Amnon Manassen ,  Nir Ben David ,  Yoram Uziel ,  Etay Lavert

IPC: H01L21/66 ,  G01N21/95

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.

公开(公告)号：US20220334501A1

公开(公告)日：2022-10-20

申请号：US17351137

申请日：2021-06-17

Applicant: KLA Corporation

Inventor： Eitan Hajaj ,  Amnon Manassen ,  Shlomo Eisenbach ,  Anna Golotsvan ,  Yoav Grauer ,  Eugene Maslovsky

IPC: G03F7/20 ,  H01L21/66

Abstract: A product includes at least one semiconductor substrate, multiple thin-film layers disposed on the at least one substrate, and an overlay target formed in at least one of the thin-film layers. The overlay target includes a first sub-target having a first center of symmetry and including first target features having a first linewidth, and a second sub-target having a second center of symmetry coincident with the first center of symmetry and including second target features, which have a second linewidth, greater than the first linewidth, and are adjacent to but non-overlapping with the first target features.

公开(公告)号：US11428642B2

公开(公告)日：2022-08-30

申请号：US17140999

申请日：2021-01-04

Applicant: KLA Corporation

Inventor： Andrew V. Hill ,  Amnon Manassen

IPC: G01N21/88 ,  G01N21/47 ,  G01N21/95 ,  G06T7/00

Abstract: An overlay metrology system may include an illumination sub-system to sequentially illuminate an overlay target with a first illumination lobe and a second illumination lobe opposite the first illumination lobe, where the overlay target includes grating-over-grating features formed from periodic structures on a first sample layer and a second sample layer. The system may further include an imaging sub-system to generate a first image and a second image of the overlay target. The first image includes an unresolved image of the grating-over-grating structures formed from a single non-zero diffraction order of the first illumination lobe. The second image includes an unresolved image of the one or more grating-over-grating structures formed from a single non-zero diffraction order of the second illumination lobe. The system may further include a controller to determine an overlay error between the first layer and the second layer based on the first image and the second image.

公开(公告)号：US20220034652A1

公开(公告)日：2022-02-03

申请号：US17178089

申请日：2021-02-17

Applicant: KLA Corporation

Inventor： Amnon Manassen ,  Andrew V. Hill

IPC: G01B11/27 ,  G01B9/02

Abstract: An overlay metrology system may include, an illumination sub-system, a collection sub-system and a controller. The illumination sub-system may include one or more illumination optics configured to direct an illumination beam to an overlay target on a sample as the sample is scanned along a stage-scan direction by a translation stage, where the overlay target includes one or more cells having a grating-over-grating structure with periodicity along the stage-scan direction. The collection sub-system may include an objective lens, a first photodetector located in a pupil plane at a location of overlap between 0-order diffraction and +1-order diffraction, and a second photodetector located in a pupil plane at a location of overlap between 0-order diffraction and −1-order diffraction. The controller may receive time-varying interference signals from the first and second photodetectors and determine an overlay error between the first and second layers of the sample along the stage-scan direction.