Kla Instruments Corporation

Henry Pearce-Percy

Alan D Brodie

Eric Munro

Richard R Simmons

Anil A Desai

John McMurtry

April Dutta

Dennis G Emge

David J Clark

Lee H Veneklasen

Chung-Shih Pan

Curt H Chadwick

J Kirkwood Rough

John S Taylor

John D Greene

Ralph T Johnson

Chetana Bhaskar

Dan Meisburger

Timothy L Hutcheson

Jack Y Jau

Barry Becker

Kirkwood Rough

Paul Wieczorek

Chun C Lin

Hoi T Nguyen

Dave E Smith

Chris Kirk

Zhong-Wei Chen

Dan Meisberger

Leslie A Honfi

Ming-Yie Ling

Hans Dohse

Yen-Jen Oyang

Ray Paul

Mike Robinson

David E Smith

Dean Walters

Sam Wong

Surendra Lele

A method and apparatus for a charged particle scanning system and an automatic inspection system, including wafers and masks used in microcircuit fabrication. A charged particle beam is directed at the surface of a substrate for scanning that substrate and a selection of detectors are included to detect at least one of the secondary charged particles, back-scattered charged particles and transmitted charged particles from the substrate. The substrate is mounted on an x-y stage to provide at least one degree of freedom while the substrate is being scanned by the charged particle beam. The substrate is also subjected to an electric field on it's surface to accelerate the secondary charged particles. The system facilitates inspection at low beam energies on charge sensitive insulating substrates and has the capability to accurately measure the position of the substrate with respect to the charged particle beam. Additionally, there is an optical alignment system for initially aligning the substrate beneath the charged particle beam. To function most efficiently there is also a vacuum system for evacuating and repressurizing a chamber containing the substrate. The vacuum system can be used to hold one substrate at vacuum while a second one is being loaded/unloaded, evacuated or repressurized. Alternately, the vacuum system can simultaneously evacuate a plurality of substrates prior to inspection and repressurize the same plurality of substrates following inspection. In the inspection configuration, there is also a comparison system for comparing the pattern on the substrate with a second pattern.

Electron beam inspection system and method

There is disclosed numerous embodiments of a method and apparatus for a particle scanning system and an automatic inspection system. In each of these a particle beam is directed at the surface of a substrate for scanning that substrate. Also included are a selection of detectors to detect at least one of the secondary particles, back-scattered particles and transmitted particles from the substrate. The substrate is mounted on an x-y stage to provide it with at least one degree of freedom while the substrate is being scanned by the/particle beam. The substrate is also subjected to an electric field on it's surface to accelerate the secondary particles. The system also has the capability to accurately measure the position of the substrate with respect to the charged particle beam. Additionally, there is an optical alignment means for initially aligning the substrate beneath the,particle beam means. To function most efficiently there is also a vacuum means for evacuating and repressurizing a chamber containing the substrate. The vacuum means can be used to hold one substrate at vacuum while a second one is being loaded/unloaded, evacuated or repressurized. Alternately, the vacuum means can simultaneously evacuate a plurality of substrates prior to inspection and repressurize of the same plurality of substrates following inspection. In the inspection configuration, there is also a comparison means for comparing the pattern on the substrate with a second pattern.

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Los Gatos, CA, United States of America

Henry Pearce-Percy