PATENT CLAIM ANALYSIS

Application Number: 16009939
Application Type: Utility
Filing Date: 2018-06
Publication Date: 2019-06
Patent Classification: ["355", "067000"]

Abstract:
An overlay metrology system may measure a first-layer pattern placement distance between a pattern of device features and a pattern of reference features on a first layer of an overlay target on a sample. The system may further measure, subsequent to fabricating a second layer including at least the pattern of device features and the pattern of reference features, a second-layer pattern placement distance between the pattern of device features and the pattern of reference features on the second layer. The system may further measure a reference overlay based on relative positions of the pattern of reference features on the first layer and the second layer. The system may further determine a device-relevant overlay for the pattern of device-scale features by adjusting the reference overlay with a difference between the first-layer pattern placement distance and the second-layer pattern placement distance.

Claim (Index 27):
The overlay metrology system of  claim 19 , wherein the pattern of reference features is a first pattern of reference features, wherein the overlay target includes one or more additional patterns of reference features fabricated on the first layer and the second layer, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to execute program instructions causing the one or more processors to:\n measure, prior to fabricating the second layer, one or more additional first-layer pattern placement distances between the pattern of device features and the one or more additional patterns of reference features on the first layer; measure, subsequent to fabricating the second layer, one or more additional reference overlays based on relative positions of the one or more additional patterns of reference features on the first layer and the second layer, wherein dimensions of the one or more additional patterns of reference features on the first layer are resolvable by the imaging system through the second layer; measure, subsequent to fabricating the second layer, one or more second-layer pattern placement distances between the pattern of device features and the one or more additional patterns of reference features on the second layer; and determining one or more additional device-relevant overlays by adjusting the one or more additional reference overlays with differences between the one or more additional first-layer pattern placement distances and the respective one or more additional second-layer pattern placement distances.

Metadata:
- Claim Count in Document: 98.0
- Percentile: 94.0
- Lexical Diversity: 3.10638
- Patent Class: 355.0
- Transitional Phrase Type: none
- Component Type: 0
- Foreign Priority: False
- Related Applications: ['15979336', '15948941', '15867485', '15667401', '11833304']

Analysis Scores:
- 35 USC 101 Eligibility (BERT): 0.7272545007467426
- 35 USC 102 Novelty (BERT): 0.4878252389283444
- Combined Prediction Score: 0.7033115745649028
- Mean Citation Score: 228.896492
- Max Citation Score: 251.337
- Similarity Product: 180.5106598868966

Labels:
- Claim Label 101: 1
- Claim Label 102: 1
- Claim Label 103: 0
- Claim Label 112: 1
- Combined Label: 1
- Label 101 Adjusted: 1

Dataset: test