Neural network based hermite interpolator for scatterometry parameter estimation

Generation of a meta-model for scatterometry analysis of a sample diffracting structure having unknown parameters. A training set comprising both a spectral signal evaluation and a derivative of the signal with respect to at least one parameter across a parameter space is rigorously computed. A neural network is trained with the training set to provide reference spectral information for a comparison to sample spectral information recorded from the sample diffracting structure. A neural network may be trained with derivative information using an algebraic method wherein a network bias vector is centered over both a primary sampling matrix and an auxiliary sampling matrix. The result of the algebraic method may be used for initializing neural network coefficients for training by optimization of the neural network weights, minimizing a difference between the actual signal and the modeled signal based on a objective function containing both function evaluations and derivatives.