Patent ID: 11966156
Assignee: KLA CORPORATION
Field: Optics (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 22:
23. A system comprising:
a controller including one or more processors configured to execute program instructions causing the one or more processors to:
develop a simulation-based model of a layer thickness after one or more process steps for fabricating features on a sample, wherein inputs to the simulation-based model include a recipe defining an input mask design to be exposed on the sample and one or more process parameters associated with the one or more process steps, wherein outputs of the simulation-based model include at least the layer thickness after the one or more process steps;
develop a transformed model of the fabrication process that emulates the simulation-based model and has a faster evaluation speed than the simulation-based model for a selected range of at least one of inputs or outputs, wherein the inputs to the transformed model include the input mask design and at least one of the one or more process parameters, wherein the outputs of the transformed model include one or more output parameters associated with fabrication of the input mask design with the one or more process steps as well as one or more sensitivity metrics describing sensitivities of the one or more output parameters to the inputs to the transformed model, wherein the one or more output parameters include at least one of the layer thickness after the one or more process steps or a stochastic defect rate based on the layer thickness;
receive a candidate recipe including a candidate mask design and the at least one of the one or more process parameters; and
generate a repaired recipe based on the transformed model and the candidate mask design.