Nikon Corporation

Fuminori Hayano

Akitoshi Kawai

Tsuneyuki Hagiwara

Kazunori Imamura

Nobukatsu Machii

Sunao Murata

Hideyuki Tashiro

Kinya Kato

Hirotomo Yashima

Kenji Yamamoto

Yukio Kakizaki

Jiro Kobayashi

Hitoshi Hamada

Hajime Moriya

A measurement processing device used for an x-ray inspection apparatus that detects an x-ray passing through a specimen with a detection unit to sequentially inspect a plurality of specimens on the basis of an acquired transmission image, includes a setting unit that sets a region to be inspected on a portion of the specimen; a determination unit that determines the non-defectiveness of the region to be inspected by using a transmission image of the x-ray that passed through the region to be inspected; a correction unit that performs a correction on the region to be inspected on the basis of a determination result by the determination unit; and a display control unit that displays the corrected region to be inspected corrected by the correction unit.

Measurement processing device, measurement processing method, measurement processing program, and method for manufacturing structure

A measurement processing device used for an X-ray inspection device includes: a region information acquisition unit that acquires first region information based on X-rays passing through a first region that is a part of a first specimen; a storage unit that stores second region information related to a second region of a second specimen, the second region being larger than the first region; and a determination unit that determines whether or not a region corresponding to the first region is included in the second region, based on the first region information and the second region information.

Measurement processing device, x-ray inspection device, measurement processing method, measurement processing program, and structure manufacturing method

A measurement processing device used for an x-ray inspection apparatus that detects an x-ray passing through a predetermined region of a specimen placed on a placement unit to perform an inspection on the shape of the predetermined region of the specimen includes: a setting unit that sets a three-dimensional region to be detected on the specimen; and a sliced-region selection unit that sets a plurality of sliced regions on the region to be detected, calculates, for each of the plurality of sliced regions, an amount of displacement of the predetermined region that is required to detect the region to be detected when the plurality of sliced regions is regarded as the predetermined region, and selects a sliced region for the inspection from among the plurality of sliced regions on the basis of each of the calculated amounts of displacement.

Measurement processing device, x-ray inspection apparatus, method for manufacturing structure, measurement processing method, x-ray inspection method, measurement processing program, and x-ray inspection program

Measurement processing device, X-ray inspection device, measurement processing method, measurement processing program, and structure manufacturing method

There is provided a surface inspection device configured to detect the surface state of the wafer, such as a defect in the uppermost layer and a variation of the CD value, using even diffracted light influenced by the baselayer. The surface inspection device is configured so that an illumination section illuminates the surface of a wafer with a first illuminating light at a high incident angle which is sensitive to a variation of the surface state of the wafer and a second illuminating light at a low incident angle which is insensitive thereto, a detection section detects diffracted light caused by the high and low incident angles, respectively, and a computing unit determines the CD value after correcting the influence of the baselayer of the wafer based on the information relating to the diffracted lights due to the high and low incident angles.

Surface inspection device and surface inspection method

Provided is a surface inspecting method for inspecting a surface of a semiconductor substrate having linear line patterns repeatedly arranged and hole-shaped hole patterns formed on the line patterns. The surface inspecting method includes setting inspecting conditions; irradiating the surface of the semiconductor substrate with illumination light under the set inspecting conditions; detecting diffracted light from the semiconductor substrate irradiated with illumination light; and judging existence/nonexistence of a defect in the hole patterns, based on the detected diffracted light. The inspecting conditions are to be set so that the irradiating direction of the illumination light on the surface of the semiconductor substrate is different from the repeated arrangement direction of the line patterns and substantially matches the repeated arrangement direction of the hole patterns.

Surface inspecting method and surface inspecting apparatus

An apparatus and method analyze overlay deviation in alignment between a first mark and a second mark that are formed on a substrate. In particular, a relationship between changes in overlay deviation values and changes in focus position of the substrate for a plurality of sets of the first and second marks that are provided on the substrate is calculated, and then an output is provided from which a user can determine whether the substrate suffers from wafer-induced-shift. Preferably, the output is a vector-map showing the relationship between changes in overlay deviation values and changes in focus position of the substrate for the plurality of sets of marks.

Method and apparatus for measuring optical overlay deviation

A particle inspecting apparatus capable of detecting only particles without depending on conditions such as a density, a configuration, etc. of an original pattern of an object to be inspected is provided. The apparatus includes a light irradiating device for irradiating the inspected object with a beam of light and a condensing optical system for condensing the beam from the inspected object. The apparatus also includes a light limiting device, disposed in the vicinity of a Fourier transform plane for the inspected object in the condensing optical system, for admitting a passage of the beam corresponding to only a part of a Fourier transform pattern of the beam from the inspected object, a relative position shiftable device for shifting relative positions of the Fourier transform pattern of the beam from the inspected object and the light limiting device and a detecting device for detecting the particle on the basis of the beam passing through the light limiting device.

Particle inspecting apparatus and method using fourier transform

In a defect inspection method, inspection light is irradiated onto the surface to be inspected of an object to be inspected, a defect on the surface to be inspected is detected on the basis of a signal obtained by photoelectrically converting scattered light of the inspection light from the surface to be inspected, and the size of the detected defect is determined. When a plurality of defects are detected, the detected defects are observed at a predetermined magnification in the order from larger defects on the basis of the determination result. When a defective portion is found as a result of the observation, defect inspection of the object to be inspected is terminated.

Defect inspection method and apparatus, and defect display method

A foreign particle inspection apparatus, for detecting a foreign particle on a reticle or the like includes an illumination system for irradiating an inspection area on a specimen with inspecting light, and plural light-receiving systems adapted to condense the scattered light from a foreign particle in the inspection area and having respective light-receiving areas on the specimen, each smaller than the inspection area. Each of the light-receiving areas of the plural light-receiving systems overlaps partially with at least one of the other light-receiving areas. The plural light-receiving systems are so arranged that any point in the inspection area is covered by the light-receiving areas of at least two of the plural light-receiving systems. A foreign particle in the inspection area is detected by a detection system, based on the lights condensed by the plural light receiving systems.

Foreign particle inspection apparatus

An apparatus includes a light source for emitting a light beam, a light beam expander for expanding the light beam in a predetermined direction, and radiating the expanded light beam onto an object to be inspected, a scanning device for moving the object to be inspected relative to the light beam to be radiated onto the object to be inspected, and a photodetector for photoelectrically converting scattered light generated from a defect (including foreign matter) on the object to be inspected, and inspects the defect on the basis of a photoelectric conversion signal obtained from the photodetector. A light-shielding plate having a plurality of edges for limiting the light beam expanded by the light beam expander at the two end portions, in the expansion direction, of the light beam is arranged, and at least one of the plurality of edges is formed to be transverse to the relative scanning direction (Y direction).

Defect inspection apparatus

In a foreign particle inspecting method and apparatus in which a polarized beam is applied to a surface to be inspected through a light transmitting member mounted thereon, in which scattered light from a foreign particle on the surface to be inspected is received by a light receiving device through the light transmitting member, and in which the foreign particle is discriminated based on a detection signal from the light receiving device, the detection signal is corrected in conformity with the transmittance of the light transmitting member for polarized incident scanning light and the transmittance of the light transmitting member for non-polarized light scattered from the foreign particle, for various angles of incidence of the polarized light and emergence of the non-polarized light. Foreign particle data may be indicated by a mapping method.

Foreign particle inspecting method and apparatus with correction for

A foreign particle detecting apparatus comprises a light source for radiating coherent light onto an object to be detected on a surface of which a circuit pattern is formed, a focusing device for focusing the light emitted from the light source onto the object to be detected at a predetermined angular aperture, a device for moving the incident light focused at the predetermined angular aperture relative to the object to be detected, and a detector for receiving scattered light produced upon incidence of the focused light onto the object to be detected, and which detects foreign matter on the object to be detected on the basis of an output signal from the detector. Foreign matter is discriminated from the circuit pattern on the basis of the output signal from the detector means. The detector comprises at least two light-receiving elements, separated by a spatial angle substantially equal to or slightly larger than the angular aperture of the incident light, for individually outputting signals.

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Tokyo, Japan

Fuminori Hayano