METHOD FOR CONSISTENT UPDATES TO AUTOMATED PROCESS CONTROL (APC) MODELS WITH PARTITIONING ALONG MULTIPLE COMPONENTS

Methods for consistent updates to APC models with partitioning along multiple components are generally described. In one example, a method includes acquiring measurement data from one or more semiconductor wafers of a processed first lot, the data having a plurality of contexts, applying a model having parameters with partitioning along the contexts to the measurement data; and applying a constraint on a subset of the model parameters such that the subset remains centered around zero to provide consistent updates for automated process control of lots processed after the first lot.