US 12,366,811 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 Apr. 30, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/650,790.
Application 18/650,790 is a continuation of application No. 17/856,213, filed on Jul. 1, 2022, granted, now 12,007,700.
Application 17/856,213 is a continuation of application No. 17/022,910, filed on Sep. 16, 2020, granted, now 11,415,900, issued on Aug. 16, 2022.
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 2024/0319620 A1, Sep. 26, 2024
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. G03F 7/00 (2006.01); G01B 11/02 (2006.01); G01B 11/06 (2006.01); G01N 21/47 (2006.01); G01N 21/95 (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 to obtain at least one computationally re-imaged image,
wherein computationally re-imaging the measurement acquisition comprises digitally altering an apodization of the measurement acquisition, and
wherein the digitally altering the apodization is based on a characteristic corresponding to the at least one structure.