Applied Materials, Inc.
OPTIMIZATION-BASED IMAGE PROCESSING FOR METROLOGY

Abstract:

One or more images of a device feature are acquired using an imaging tool. A geometrical shape is defined encompassing the relevant pixels of each image, where the geometrical shape is represented in terms of one or more parameters. A cost function is defined whose variables comprise the one or more parameters of the geometrical shape. For each image, numerical optimization is applied to obtain optimal values of the one or more parameters for which the cost function is minimized. The optimal values of the one or more parameters are reported as metrology data pertaining to the device feature.