Inspection method and apparatus, lithographic apparatus, lithographic processing cell and device manufacturing method
First Claim
1. A method of measuring a property of a substrate, the method comprising:
- generating a patterned mask configured to cause a radiation beam passing through the mask to acquire a pattern;
simulating radiating the substrate with a patterned radiation beam that has been patterned using the mask to obtain a simulated pattern;
determining at least one location of the simulated pattern that is prone to patterning errors;
irradiating the substrate with the patterned radiation beam using a lithographic process;
measuring an accuracy of at least one property of the at least one location of the pattern on the substrate that has been determined as being prone to patterning errors, the measuring comprising irradiating a measurement spot with a first radiation source, irradiating a portion of the pattern on the substrate that is larger than the measurement spot with a second radiation source, and comparing relative positions of the measurement spot and the portion of the pattern that is larger than the measurement spot; and
adjusting the lithographic process according to said measuring; and
reconstructing a portion of the pattern within the measurement spot using an image of the pattern and the position of the measurement spot relative to the portion of the pattern.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of measuring a property of a substrate includes generating a patterned mask configured to cause a radiation beam passing through the mask to acquire the pattern, simulating radiating the substrate with a patterned radiation beam that has been patterned using the mask to obtain a simulated pattern, determining at least one location of the simulated pattern that is prone to patterning errors, and irradiating the substrate with the patterned radiation beam using a lithographic process. The method also includes measuring an accuracy of at least one property of the at least one location of the pattern on the substrate that has been determined as being prone to patterning errors, and adjusting the lithographic process according to the measuring.
56 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A method of measuring a property of a substrate, the method comprising:
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generating a patterned mask configured to cause a radiation beam passing through the mask to acquire a pattern; simulating radiating the substrate with a patterned radiation beam that has been patterned using the mask to obtain a simulated pattern; determining at least one location of the simulated pattern that is prone to patterning errors; irradiating the substrate with the patterned radiation beam using a lithographic process; measuring an accuracy of at least one property of the at least one location of the pattern on the substrate that has been determined as being prone to patterning errors, the measuring comprising irradiating a measurement spot with a first radiation source, irradiating a portion of the pattern on the substrate that is larger than the measurement spot with a second radiation source, and comparing relative positions of the measurement spot and the portion of the pattern that is larger than the measurement spot; and adjusting the lithographic process according to said measuring; and reconstructing a portion of the pattern within the measurement spot using an image of the pattern and the position of the measurement spot relative to the portion of the pattern. - View Dependent Claims (2)
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3. A method comprising:
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choosing a measurement spot corresponding to a location of a pattern that has been determined as being prone to patterning errors; irradiating the measurement spot on the pattern on a substrate with a first radiation source; irradiating, with a second radiation source, a portion of the pattern on the substrate that is larger than the measurement spot irradiated by the first radiation source; detecting radiation that is reflected from the measurement spot and the portion of the pattern with a first detector and outputting an image of relative positions of the measurement spot and the portion of the pattern; comparing a position of the measurement spot with respect to the portion of the pattern and outputting a position of the measurement spot relative to the portion of the pattern; detecting radiation from the first radiation source having been diffracted from the measurement spot using a second detector and outputting a diffraction spectrum associated with the pattern; and reconstructing the pattern within the measurement spot using an image of the pattern and the value of the position of the measurement spot relative to the portion of the pattern.
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4. An inspection apparatus configured to measure a property of a substrate, the inspection apparatus comprising:
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a first radiation source configured to irradiate a measurement spot on a patterned target of a substrate; a second radiation source configured to irradiate an area of the patterned target that is larger than the measurement spot; a first detector configured to detect (1) radiation originating from the first radiation source and having been reflected from the measurement spot, and (2) radiation originating from the second radiation source and having been reflected from the area of the patterned target that is larger than the measurement spot, and to output an image of relative positions of the measurement spot and the area of the patterned target that is larger than the measurement spot; an image processor configured to receive the output of the first detector, to compare a position of the measurement spot with respect to the area of the patterned target, and to output a position of the measurement spot relative to the area of the patterned target; a second detector configured to detect radiation from the first radiation source having been diffracted from the measurement spot, and to output a diffraction spectrum corresponding to the patterned target; and a processor configured to process the output of the image processor and the output of the second detector to reconstruct a pattern of the patterned target within the measurement spot. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A method of measuring a property of a substrate, the method comprising:
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irradiating a measurement spot on a patterned target on a substrate with a first radiation source; irradiating, with a second radiation source, a portion of the patterned target on the substrate that is larger than the measurement spot irradiated by the first radiation source; detecting with a first detector (1) radiation originating from the first radiation source and that is reflected from the measurement spot and, (2) radiation originating from the second radiation source and having been reflected from the portion of the patterned target that is larger than the measurement spot and, outputting an image of relative positions of the measurement spot and the portion of the patterned target that is larger than the measurement spot; comparing a position of the measurement spot with respect to the portion of the patterned target and outputting a value of the position of the measurement spot relative to the portion of the patterned target; detecting radiation from the first radiation source having been diffracted from the measurement spot using a second detector and outputting a diffraction spectrum associated with the patterned target; and reconstructing a pattern of the patterned target within the measurement spot using an image of the patterned target and a position of the measurement spot relative to the portion of the patterned target.
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30. A lithographic apparatus configured to measure a property of a substrate, the lithographic apparatus comprising:
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a first radiation source configured to irradiate a measurement spot on a patterned target of a substrate; a second radiation source configured to irradiate an area of the patterned target that is larger than the measurement spot; a first detector configured to detect (1) radiation originating from the first radiation source and having been reflected from the measurement spot, and (2) radiation originating from the second radiation source and having been reflected from the area of the patterned target that is larger than the measurement spot, and to output an image of relative positions of the measurement spot and the area of the patterned target that is larger than the measurement spot; an image processor configured to receive the output of the first detector, to compare a position of the measurement spot with respect to the area of the patterned target and to output a value of the position of the measurement spot relative to the area of the patterned target; a second detector configured to detect radiation from the first radiation source having been diffracted from the measurement spot and outputting a diffraction spectrum corresponding to the patterned target; and a processor for processing the output of the image processor and the output of the second detector to reconstruct a pattern of the patterned target within the measurement spot.
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31. A lithographic cell configured to measure a property of a substrate, the lithographic cell comprising:
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a first radiation source configured to irradiate a measurement spot on a patterned target of a substrate; a second radiation source configured to irradiate an area of the patterned target that is larger than the measurement spot; a first detector configured to detect (1) radiation originating from the first radiation source and having been reflected from the measurement spot, and (2) radiation originating from the second radiation source and having been reflected from the area of the patterned target that is larger than the measurement spot, and to output an image of relative positions of the measurement spot and the area of the patterned target that is larger than the measurement spot; an image processor configured to receive the output of the first detector, to compare a position of the measurement spot with respect to the area of the patterned target and to output a position of the measurement spot relative to the area of the patterned target; a second detector configured to detect radiation from the first radiation source having been diffracted from the measurement spot and outputting a diffraction spectrum corresponding to the patterned target; and
a processor for processing the output of the image processor and the output of the second detector to reconstruct a pattern of the patterned target within the measurement spot.
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32. A device manufacturing method, comprising:
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simulating radiating a substrate with a patterned radiation beam that has been patterned using a mask to obtain a simulated pattern; determining at least one location of the simulated pattern that is prone to patterning errors; irradiating the substrate with the patterned radiation beam using a lithographic process; measuring an accuracy of at least one property of the at least one location of a pattern on the substrate that has been determined as being prone to patterning errors, the measuring comprises irradiating a measurement spot with a first radiation source, irradiating a portion of the pattern on the substrate that is larger than the measurement spot with a second radiation source, and comparing relative positions of the measurement spot and the portion of the pattern that is larger than the measurement spot; and adjusting the lithographic process according to said measuring; and reconstructing a pattern within the measurement spot using an image of the pattern and the position of the measurement spot relative to the portion of the pattern that is larger than the measurement spot. - View Dependent Claims (33)
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Specification