Patent Document ID: 7511830
Application ID: 11945949
Patent Flag: 1

Claim One:
1. A method for creating a data source useful for finding a value related to one or more parameters of a three-dimensional diffracting structure on a reference plane wherein a measurement is carried out by directing a polychromatic beam of electromagnetic radiation at said diffracting structure and detecting corresponding intensities or changes in polarization state of a diffraction of said beam at a number of wavelengths from said structure, comprising: providing a model of the structure by cutting a three-dimensional contour resembling a representative portion of the structure along planes parallel to said reference plane to obtain a pile of a plurality of slabs; forming for each slab a corresponding array of rectangular blocks to approximate such slab, said arrays arranged along planes parallel to the reference plane; for each of the arrays, performing a multimodal analysis of each block in such array to find its one dimensional solution and matching the solutions of adjacent blocks in such array to find a two-dimensional solution for such array; obtaining a three-dimensional solution for the contour from the two-dimensional solutions of the arrays for the slabs in the pile.