Applied Materials Israel Limited

Applied Materials, Inc.

Lenslet Labs Ltd.

Benzion Sender

Alon Litman

Yoram Uziel

Ron Naftali

Yaron Hefetz

Dror Shemesh

Yuval Gronau

Ishai Schwarzband

Igor Krivts (Krayvitz)

Efim Vinnitsky

Amir Shoham

Ran Schleyen

Aviram Sariel

Avner Goren

Yuri Belenky

Ofir Greenberg

Yohanan Madmon

Tzvi Tzelnick

Shimon Levit

Yosefa Asaf

Sergio Liberman

Eyal Moses

Vered Machal

Ophir Dror

Guy Eytan

Doron Aspir

A method and a system. The system may include (a) evaluation units, (b) an object distribution system for receiving the objects and distributing the objects between the evaluation units, and (c) at least one controller. Each evaluation unit may include (i) a chamber housing that has an inner space, (ii) a chuck, (iii) a movement system that is configured to move the chuck, and (iv) a charged particle module that is configured to irradiate the object with a charged particle beam, and to detect particles emitted from the object. In each evaluation unit a length of the inner space is smaller than twice a length of the object, and a width of the inner space is smaller than twice a width of the object.

Method and system for evaluating objects

A method that includes performing multiple test iterations to provide multiple test results; and processing the multiple test results to provide estimates of a conductivity of each of the multiple bottoms segments. The multiple test iterations includes repeating, for each bottom segment of the multiple bottom segments, the steps of: (a) illuminating the bottom segment by a charging electron beam; wherein electrons emitted from the bottom segment due to the illuminating are prevented from exiting the hole; (b) irradiating, by a probing electron beam, an area of an upper surface of the dielectric medium; (c) collecting electrons emitted from the area of the upper surface as a result of the irradiation of the area by the probing electron beam to provide collected electrons; and (d) determining an energy of at least one of the collected electrons to provide a test result.

X-ray based metrology of a high aspect ratio hole

A method for scanning an object, the method may include moving an object by a first mechanical stage that follows a first scan pattern; introducing multiple movements, by a second mechanical stage, between the object and the first mechanical stage while the first mechanical stage follows the first scan pattern; and obtaining, by optics, images of multiple suspected defects while the first mechanical stage follows the first scan pattern; wherein a weight of the first mechanical stage exceeds a weight of the second mechanical stage.

Scanning an object using multiple mechanical stages

A system for scanning a plurality of regions of interest of a substrate using one or more charged particle beams, the system comprises: an irradiation module having charged particle optics; a stage for introducing a relative movement between the substrate and the charged particle optics; an imaging module for collecting electrons emanating from the substrate in response to a scanning of the regions of interest by the one or more charged particle beams; and wherein the charged particle optics is arranged to perform countermovements of the charged particle beam during the scanning of the regions of interest thereby countering relative movements introduced between the substrate and the charged particle optics during the scanning of the regions of interest.

Inspection of regions of interest using an electron beam system

A system that may include a first mechanical stage, a second mechanical stage, charged particle beam optics and a controller. The system may charge, with a charged particle beam, a slice of the object. During the charging of the slice the first mechanical stage may introduce a first movement along a first direction, between the object and charged particle beam optics. The charged particle beam optics may scan the slice with the charged particle beam. The scanning of the slice includes performing, by the charged particle optics, a first counter-movement deflection of the charged particle beam to at least partially counter the first movement. The second mechanical stage is configured to introduce a second movement along a second direction, between the object and the charged particle beam optics. Upon a completion of the charging of the slice, the second mechanical stage is configured to perform a first flyback operation.

Method for charging and imaging an object

A system for scanning an object, the system may include (a) charged particles optics that is configured to: scan, with a charged particle beam and at a first scan rate, a first region of interest (ROI) of an area of the object; detect first particles that were generated as a result of the scanning of the first ROI; scan, with the charged particle beam and at a second scan rate, a second ROI of the area of the object; wherein the second scan rate is lower than the first scan rate; wherein first ROI differs from the second ROI by at least one parameter; detect second particles that were generated as a result of the scanning of the second ROA; and (b) a processor that is configured to generate at least one image of the area in response to the first and second particles.

System and method for scanning an object

A system for scanning a plurality of regions of interest of a substrate using one or more charged particle beams, the system may include: an irradiation module having charged particle optics; a stage for introducing a relative movement between the substrate and the charged particle optics; an imaging module for collecting electrons emanating from the substrate in response to a scanning of the regions of interest by the one or more charged particle beams; and wherein the charged particle optics is arranged to perform countermovements of the charged particle beam during the scanning of the regions of interest thereby countering relative movements introduced between the substrate and the charged particle optics during the scanning of the regions of interest.

A method for imaging a surface, including scanning a first region of the surface with a primary charged particle beam at a first scan rate so as to generate a first secondary charged particle beam from the first region, and scanning a second region of the surface with the primary charged particle beam at a second scan rate faster than the first scan rate so as to generate a second secondary charged particle beam from the second region. The method also includes receiving the first secondary charged particle beam and the second secondary charged particle beam at a detector configured to generate a signal in response to the beams, and forming an image of the first and the second regions in response to the signal.

Variable rate scanning in an electron microscope

A method for focusing a charged particle beam, the method includes: (a) altering a focal point of a charged particle beam according to a first focal pattern while scanning a first area of a sample and collecting a first set of detection signals; (b) altering a focal point of a charged particle bean according to a second focal pattern while scanning a second area that is ideally identical to the first area and collecting a second set of detection signals; and (c) processing the first and second set of detection signals to determine a focal characteristic; whereas the first focal pattern and the second focal pattern differ by the location of an optimal focal point.

Method and system for focusing a charged particle beam

An integrated VMM (vector-matrix multiplier) module, including an electro-optical VMM component that multiplies an input vector by a matrix to produce an output vector; and an electronic VPU (vector processing unit) that processes at least one of the input and output vectors. Various error reducing mechanisms are also discussed.

Vector-matrix multiplication

A method for focusing a charged particle beam, the method including: (a) altering a focal point of a charged particle beam according to a first focal pattern while scanning a first area of a sample and collecting a first set of detection signals; (b) altering a focal point of a charged particle beam according to a second focal pattern while scanning a second area that is ideally identical to the first area and collecting a second set of detection signals; and (c) processing the first and second set of detection signals to determine a focal characteristic; wherein the first focal pattern and the second focal pattern differ by the location of an optimal focal point.

A multi beam inspection method and system. The inspection system includes: (i) a beam array generator adapted to generate an array of beams characterized by a beam array axis; and (ii) at least one mechanism adapted to position the object under the array of beams such that at least two beams that are positioned along a beam array axis scan substantially simultaneously at least two regions of interest of the object, wherein the first axis is oriented in relation to the beam array axis.

Methods of scanning an object that includes multiple regions of interest using an array of scanning beams

An apparatus and method for scanning a pattern. The method includes: (i) directing a charged particle beam such as to interact with the pattern along a first scan path, and (ii) directing a beam such as to interact with the pattern along a second scan path. The pattern changes one of its characteristics as a result of an interaction with the beam. The distance between the first and the second scan paths may be bigger than the diameter of the charged electron beam. Each of the first and second scan paths may include a plurality of consecutive samples and the distance between the first and second scan paths may be bigger than a distance between adjacent samples. The location of scan paths may be changed between measurements and especially between measurement sessions. The charged particle beam may have an ellipsoid cross section.

Growing community of inventors

Modiin-Macabim-Reut, Israel

Benzion Sender