Methods and apparatus for obtaining diagnostic information relating to an industrial process

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10274834-B2
Application number	US-201815915674-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 8, 2018
Priority date	Oct 2, 2013
Publication date	Apr 30, 2019
Grant date	Apr 30, 2019

Abstract

In a lithographic process, product units such as semiconductor wafers are subjected to lithographic patterning operations and chemical and physical processing operations. Alignment data or other measurements are made at stages during the performance of the process to obtain object data representing positional deviation or other parameters measured at points spatially distributed across each unit. This object data is used to obtain diagnostic information by performing a multivariate analysis to decompose a set of vectors representing the units in said multidimensional space into one or more component vectors. Diagnostic information about the industrial process is extracted using the component vectors. The performance of the industrial process for subsequent product units can be controlled based on the extracted diagnostic information.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
obtaining object data for a set of physical product units that have been subjected nominally to a same device manufacturing process;
obtaining performance data representing one or more performance parameters measured for each product unit of the set of product units;
performing, by a hardware computer system, a multivariate analysis on the object data to decompose the object data into one or more fingerprints;
correlating, by the hardware computer system, the performance data to the one or more obtained fingerprints;
determining, by the hardware computer system, a correction based on the correlation between the performance data and the one or more obtained fingerprints; and
based on the determined correction, output electronic data for configuration or modification of the device manufacturing process or of a measurement process of physical product units subjected to the device manufacturing process.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the object data for each product unit comprises a residual resulting from one or more parameters measured on the product unit at points spatially distributed across the product unit being subjected to a correction obtainable in the device manufacturing process.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the object data comprises a height map of a physical product unit.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the object data comprises alignment data of a physical product unit.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the performance data comprises overlay data and/or critical dimension data.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the performance data is measured by a metrology tool.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the correlating comprises using linear regression to obtain a degree of correlation between the performance data and the one or more obtained fingerprints.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining of the correction is further based on user interaction.

9. An apparatus configured to at least:
collect object data for a set of physical product units that have been subjected nominally to a same device manufacturing process;
perform a multivariate analysis on the object data to decompose the object data into one or more fingerprints;
visualize the one or more fingerprints;
determine a labeling of the one or more fingerprints;
estimate a performance impact of the one or more fingerprints; and
based on the estimated performance impact, output electronic data for configuration or modification of the device manufacturing process or of a measurement process of physical product units subjected to the device manufacturing process.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the performance impact comprises an overlay error.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the estimate of the performance impact is based on a correlation analysis between (i) height and/or alignment data and (ii) overlay data and/or critical dimension data.

12. The apparatus of claim 9 , further comprising a user interface.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the user interface provides for an operator to ask for relevancy of the one or more fingerprints.

14. The apparatus of claim 9 , further configured to provide automatic clustering of the object data.

15. The apparatus of claim 9 , further configured to provide visualization of scatter of the object data.

16. The apparatus of claim 9 , further configured to provide generation of a correction to an apparatus used in the device manufacturing process.

17. A non-transitory computer program product comprising machine readable instructions configured to cause a computer system to at least:
obtain object data for a set of physical product units that have been subjected nominally to a same device manufacturing process;
obtain performance data representing one or more performance parameters measured for each product unit of the set of product units;
perform a multivariate analysis on the object data to decompose the object data into one or more fingerprints;
correlate the performance data to the one or more obtained fingerprints;
determine a correction based on the correlation between the performance data and the one or more obtained fingerprints; and
based on the determined correction, output electronic data for configuration or modification of the device manufacturing process or of a measurement process of physical product units subjected to the device manufacturing process.

18. The non-transitory computer program product of claim 17 , wherein the object data for each product unit comprises a residual resulting from one or more parameters measured on the product unit at points spatially distributed across the product unit being subjected to a correction obtainable in the device manufacturing process.

19. A non-transitory computer program product comprising machine readable instructions configured to cause a computer system to at least:
collect object data for a set of physical product units that have been subjected nominally to a same device manufacturing process;
perform a multivariate analysis on the object data to decompose the object data into one or more fingerprints;
visualize the one or more fingerprints;
determine a labeling of the one or more fingerprints;
estimate a performance impact of the one or more fingerprints; and
based on the estimated performance impact, output electronic data for configuration or modification of the device manufacturing process or of a measurement process of physical product units subjected to the device manufacturing process.

20. The non-transitory computer program product of claim 19 , wherein the estimate of the performance impact is based on a correlation analysis between (i) height and/or alignment data and (ii) overlay data and/or critical dimension data.

Assignees

• Asml Netherlands Bv

Inventors

• Ypma Alexander
• Menger Jasper
• Deckers David
• Han David
• Koopman Adrianus Cornelis Matheus
• Lyulina Irina
• Middlebrooks Scott Anderson
• Van Haren Richard Johannes Franciscus
• Wildenberg Jochem Sebastiaan

Classifications

• G06F16/26

  Visual data mining; Browsing structured data · CPC title

• G03F7/70625

  Dimensions, e.g. line width, critical dimension [CD], profile, sidewall angle or edge roughness · CPC title

• G03F7/70641

  Focus · CPC title

• G03F7/70633

  Overlay, i.e. relative alignment between patterns printed by separate exposures in different layers, or in the same layer in multiple exposures or stitching · CPC title

• G03F7/70525 Primary

  Controlling normal operating mode, e.g. matching different apparatus, remote control or prediction of failure · CPC title