Optical Property Determination for Lithographic Mask Deposition Materials

The patent creates a virtual copy of the synchrotron measurement environment by using computational simulations that replicate the optical measurement process. Instead of physically accessing a synchrotron facility, the invention uses simulated reflectivity data that mimics what would be obtained from synchrotron measurements, thereby achieving comparable precision without the complexity and cost of actual synchrotron equipment.

The patent introduces an intermediary computational model that bridges the gap between available industrial measurement tools and the precision requirements for optical property determination. The simulation software acts as an intermediary, translating measurements from standard optical inspection systems into accurate optical property values that would otherwise require synchrotron facilities.

The patent performs preliminary computational simulations to establish the relationship between deposition height and reflectivity measurements before actual measurements are taken. By pre-calculating expected reflectivity values for various deposition heights using simulation models, the invention reduces the time required for actual measurements, as the simulation framework is already in place to rapidly process and interpret the measured data.

The patent systematically varies the deposition height parameter across multiple measurements to improve optical property determination accuracy. By measuring reflectivity at different deposition heights and using these variations in the simulation model, the invention extracts more accurate optical properties. The simulation software efficiently handles these parameter variations, minimizing the time penalty associated with multiple measurements.