As the number of varied devices produced by a fab increases, coupled with an increased complexity in those devices which call for an ever increasing number of process layers, in-line process control via metrology can become an impossible task, unless metrology recipe management schemes are implemented. Logic fabs are now introducing more than 1 new device per day, which can result in the writing and management of thousands of recipes, which in turn can lead to the costly consumption of tool and

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... personnel resources and a general loss in productivity. In this paper we present the productivity gains to be made in the recipe creation process through off-line recipe generation, as well as a method of decreasing the recipe optimization time. We will also outline the concept of Just In Time (JIT) recipe creation, its contribution to productivity gains, and its generalized implementation with respect to Overlay Metrology recipes.