Patent ID: 8423320

Claim:
A method, comprising: obtaining, at a computer system, a first measurement data set by a non-destructive measurement technique from one or more first substrates having formed thereabove one or more first layers of one or more materials of a semiconductor device, said first measurement data set containing a plurality of measured parameters conveying information about at least one structural characteristic of said one or more first layers; obtaining, at the computer system, a reference data related to said one or more first layers, wherein the reference data is acquired from one or more third substrates using a second measurement technique; selecting, using the computer system, a subset of said measured parameters of said first measurement data set, wherein the subset is a reduced number of said measured parameters that correspond to high degrees of variability with respect to the reference data; determining, using the computer system, a model on the basis of said subset and said reference data, said model determining numerical values of said at least one structural characteristics as a function of measured values of said subset; obtaining, at the computer system, a second measurement data set from one or more second substrates having formed thereabove one or more second layers of said one or more materials, said second measurement data set corresponding at least to said subset; and determining, using the computer system, numerical values of said at least one structural characteristic of said one or more second layers on the basis of said model and said second measurement data set.