Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Toshiba Memory Corporation

Akira Hamaguchi

Shigeki Nojima

Takashi Ishii

Takamitsu Nagai

Kazuhiro Nojima

Atsushi Onishi

Tomohide Tezuka

Kazuhiro Yamada

An apparatus for inspecting a defect includes a memory storage and a processing unit coupled to the memory storage. The processing unit is configured to acquire pattern data for one or more patterns implemented on a wafer from a storage device, clip a portion that corresponds to the pattern data from a figure indicated by design data to generate design information and one or more circuit patterns, assign a first set of numbers to the one or more patterns of the pattern data, assign a second set of numbers to the one or more circuit patterns of the design information, generate relation information indicative of one or more correspondences between the first set of numbers and the second set of numbers, verify whether or not the one or more patterns indicated by the pattern data constitute a crucial defect based on the relation information, and send a verification result to a device.

Defect inspection apparatus and defect inspection method

In accordance with an embodiment, a method of adjusting quality of an image of patterns common in shape includes acquiring a first gray value and a first waveform within a reference image, acquiring a sample image, acquiring a second gray value and a second waveform from third and fourth regions within a sample image, respectively, and adjusting the brightness and contrast of the sample image. The first gray value is a standard for the brightness of the image from a first region within a reference image. The first and second waveforms represent a luminance profile of second and fourth regions including edges, respectively. The third and fourth regions correspond to the first and second regions. The brightness and contrast of the sample image are adjusted by matching the first gray value and the first waveform with the second gray value and the second waveform.

Image quality adjusting method, non-transitory computer-readable recording medium, and electron microscope

An embodiment of the present invention is a charge trajectory calculating method which calculates, by simulation, trajectories of charges scattered by irradiating a target object with a charged beam. The method includes: setting a simulation region, which corresponds to the existence region of the target object; dividing the simulation region into a plurality of segment regions; calculating, by a Monte Carlo calculation, the trajectories of charges scattered by irradiating the inside of a predetermined segment region with the charged beam; calculating, based on function values of an approximate function, the potential distribution which occurs in the simulation region by irradiating the outside of the predetermined segment region with the charged beam; and calculating, by a Monte Carlo calculation, and based on the potential distribution calculated based on the function values of the approximate function, the trajectories of charges scattered by irradiating the outside of the predetermined segment region with the charged beam.

Charge trajectory calculating method, system, and program

A pattern data verification method includes preparing exposure data related to a circuit pattern to be formed on a substrate, calculating a characteristic of an image of an exposure pattern on a resist film to be applied on the substrate, the exposure pattern corresponding to the exposure data, calculating a film thickness of the resist film after being developed based on the characteristic of the image of the exposure pattern, and determining whether the exposure data is acceptable or rejectable based on the film thickness of the resist film after being developed.

Pattern data verification method, pattern data creation method, exposure mask manufacturing method, semiconductor device manufacturing method, and computer program product

A method of determining defect detection sensitivity data, comprises: taking image data from the desired surface areas of each of semiconductor devices, processing at least two of the image data through arithmetic operations and comparing the processed image data with a parameter of defect detection sensitivity substituted by predetermined threshold data to obtain information on defects in the desired areas at least in one-to-one correspondence with any of the image data arithmetically processed, repeating more than once the step of varying the parameter of the defect detection sensitivity to obtain the defect information, so as to obtain more than one sets of combination data on a value of the parameter of the defect detection sensitivity correlated with the defect information, processing more than one sets of the combination data to produce a mathematical function expressing a relation of the desired statistical data with the parameter of the defect detection sensitivity, the mathematical function being used to determine defect detection sensitivity data, the defect detection sensitivity data being used in obtaining the information on the defects in the desired surface areas of the semiconductor devices under defect inspection, and the defect detection sensitivity data defining an existence range of the defect information in the image data which are taken from the desired surface areas of each semiconductor device and which are arithmetically processed in the previous step.

Method and apparatus for determining defect detection sensitivity data, control method of defect detection apparatus, and method and apparatus for detecting defect of semiconductor devices

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Yokohama, Japan

Akira Hamaguchi