US 12,007,700 B2
Metrology system and method for determining a characteristic of one or more structures on a substrate
Patricius Aloysius Jacobus Tinnemans, Hapert (NL); Arie Jeffrey Den Boef, Waalre (NL); Armand Eugene Albert Koolen, Nuth (NL); Nitesh Pandey, Eindhoven (NL); Vasco Tomas Tenner, Amsterdam (NL); Willem Marie Julia Marcel Coene, Geldrop (NL); and Patrick Warnaar, Tilburg (NL)
Assigned to ASML Netherlands B.V., Veldhoven (NL)
Filed by ASML Netherlands B.V., Veldhoven (NL)
Filed on Jul. 1, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/856,213.
Application 17/856,213 is a continuation of application No. 17/022,910, filed on Sep. 16, 2020, granted, now 11,415,900.
Application 17/022,910 is a continuation of application No. 16/150,879, filed on Oct. 3, 2018, granted, now 10,816,909, issued on Oct. 27, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 17194905 (EP), filed on Oct. 5, 2017; application No. 17199764 (EP), filed on Nov. 2, 2017; and application No. 17206967 (EP), filed on Dec. 13, 2017.
Prior Publication US 2023/0062585 A1, Mar. 2, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. G03F 7/20 (2006.01); G01B 11/02 (2006.01); G01B 11/06 (2006.01); G01N 21/47 (2006.01); G01N 21/95 (2006.01); G03F 7/00 (2006.01); G03F 9/00 (2006.01)
CPC G03F 7/7085 (2013.01) [G01B 11/02 (2013.01); G01B 11/0625 (2013.01); G01N 21/4788 (2013.01); G01N 21/9501 (2013.01); G03F 7/70158 (2013.01); G03F 7/705 (2013.01); G03F 7/70625 (2013.01); G03F 7/70633 (2013.01); G03F 9/7088 (2013.01); G01B 2210/56 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus for determining a characteristic of interest relating to at least one structure on a substrate, the apparatus comprising:
an illumination branch comprising a radiation source and configured to direct illumination radiation at the substrate;
a detection branch comprising a detector and configured to detect scattered radiation from the at least one structure on the substrate; and
a processor configured to:
computationally determine phase and amplitude information from an electric field of the scattered radiation in a measurement acquisition, and
computationally re-image the measurement acquisition of the at least one structure subsequent to a measurement to obtain at least one computationally re-imaged image,
wherein computationally re-imaging the measurement acquisition comprises digitally altering an apodization of the illumination radiation for the measurement acquisition, and
wherein digitally altering the apodization is based on the at least one structure.