DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
The preliminary amendment filed on September 06, 2024 has been entered. Claims 1-4, 6-15 and 18-23 are pending in this application.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claim(s) 1-4, 6-15 and 18-23 is/are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Frisco et al. [US 20200272059 A1, hereafter Frisco].
As per Claims 1 and 18, Frisco teaches a method for performing a lithographic apparatus setup calibration and/or drift correction for a specific lithographic apparatus of a population of lithographic apparatuses to be used in a manufacturing process for manufacturing an integrated circuit extending across a plurality of layers on a substrate (Para 7), the method comprising:
determining a spatial error distribution of an apparatus parameter across spatial coordinates on the substrate for each lithographic apparatus of the population of lithographic apparatuses and/or each layer of the plurality of layers (wherein a method comprising determining aberrations caused by each lithographic apparatus of a set of lithographic apparatuses);
determining a reference distribution by aggregating each of the spatial error distributions to optimize the reference distribution such that a spatial distribution of a parameter of interest of the manufacturing process is co-optimized across the said population of lithographic apparatuses and/or plurality of layers, wherein the aggregating comprises performing a weighted average of the spatial error distributions (Para 21, wherein the aberrations may be measured by exposing reference substrates to patterns using the lithographic apparatuses and then measuring the exposed patterns); and using the reference distribution as a target distribution for the apparatus parameter for each lithographic apparatus and/or layer (Para 35, wherein calculate adjustments of the lithographic apparatuses which minimize differences between the aberrations caused by each of the lithographic apparatuses, and applying the adjustments to the lithographic apparatuses).
As per Claims 2 and 19, Frisco teaches the method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reference distribution is common for all lithographic apparatuses and/or layers (Para 21, measured by exposing reference substrates).
As per Claims 3 and 20, Frisco teaches the method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reference distribution is optimized to minimize an error range of the apparatus parameter across the lithographic apparatus population and/or the plurality of layers (Para 85).
As per Claims 4 and 21, Frisco teaches the method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spatial error distribution for each lithographic apparatus or layer used to determine the reference distribution comprises a residual error fingerprint following an initial or simulated setup procedure (Para 66, the projection system of the lithographic apparatus may be adjusted to reduce such aberrations but nevertheless residual aberrations will remain).
As per Claims 6 and 22, Frisco teaches the method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the optimization of the reference distribution comprises determining weights per lithographic apparatus and/or layer for the weighted average, the weights being determined to optimize the parameter of interest of the manufacturing process (Para 87, the best set of weighted parameters to achieve the best matching of KPIs across the set of lithographic apparatuses).
As per Claim 7, Frisco teaches the method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the determining a reference distribution comprises performing an iterative optimization of the weights till at least one convergence criterion is met (Para 98).
As per Claim 8, Frisco teaches the method as claimed in claim 6, wherein the aggregating comprises determining a mapping function which maps the spatial error distributions weighted by respective weights to the weighted average of the spatial error distributions (Para 83).
As per Claims 9 and 23, Frisco teaches the method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the parameter of interest is overlay, edge placement error or any parameter indicative of yield (Para 36).
As per Claim 10, Frisco teaches the method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the determining a reference distribution accounts for at least one sensitivity or weight specific to a particular application related to one or more of the lithographic apparatuses and/or layers and/or the integrated circuit (Para 45).
As per Claim 11, Frisco teaches the method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reference distribution is used as a target distribution for each lithographic apparatus and/or layer during a setup or calibration operation prior to commencing production (Para 87).
As per Claim 12, Frisco teaches the method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reference distribution is used as a target distribution for drift control during production, such that any drift is corrected towards the target distribution (Para 87).
As per Claim 13, Frisco teaches the method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparatus parameter is aberration of a projection system of a lithographic apparatus, and the setup comprises a lens setup for calibrating the projection system (Para 66).
As per Claim 14, Frisco teaches the method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the determining a reference distribution further comprises an optimization of aberration or Zernike weights in a lens model used in the lens setup (Para 67).
As per Claim 15, Frisco teaches the method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparatus parameter is position deviation in one or both of a reticle stage and substrate stage of the lithographic apparatus and the setup comprises a grid setup for calibrating a measure and/or exposure grid (Para 35).
Conclusion
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/MESFIN T ASFAW/ Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2882
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