Patent ID: 8024676

Claim:
A method of processing a substrate comprising: creating a first mask having a first multi-pitch scatterometry target (M-PST) masking pattern therein, the first M-PST masking pattern being aligned in a first direction; creating a first patterned layer on a patterned substrate using the first mask, a first exposure procedure, and a first developing procedure, wherein the first patterned layer includes a first developed M-PST pattern, the first developed M-PST pattern comprising a plurality of structure features and a plurality of space features, each space feature being located next to at least one structure feature, wherein the structure features include at least one isolated structure feature and at least one dense structure feature, the space features including at least one isolated space feature and at least one dense space feature; calculating a plurality of output parameters using a neural network model and a plurality of input parameters, wherein at least one of the input parameters is determined using diffraction signal data from one or more of the structure features and one or more of the space features in the first developed M-PST pattern; determining confidence data using the neural network model, one or more of the output parameters, and/or one or more of the input parameters; comparing the confidence data to a first confidence threshold; identifying the first developed M-PST pattern as a verified pattern when the confidence data is greater than the first confidence threshold; and performing one or more corrective actions when the confidence data is not greater than the first confidence threshold.