Hitachi, Ltd.

Renesas Technology Corp.

Tokyo Institute of Technology

Hiroshi Morioka

Mari Nozoe

Takashi Hiroi

Yasutsugu Usami

Kazuhisa Machida

Yasuhiko Nara

Minori Noguchi

Yoshimasa Ohshima

Yukio Kembo

Kohichi Hayakawa

Maki Ito

Hidetoshi Nishiyama

Kenji Watanabe

Kazuhiko Matsuoka

Yoshiharu Shigyo

Maki Tanaka

Hiroshi Miyai

Hiroyuki Shinada

Aritoshi Sugimoto

Yuzo Taniguchi

Keiichi Saiki

Hiroshi Yamaguchi

Masahiro Watanabe

Chie Shishido

Osamu Hasegawa

Masataka Shiba

Hideaki Doi

Makiko Kohno

Noppharit Tongprasit

Fumiaki Endo

Sangkyu Yi

Performing map construction under a crowded environment where there are a lot of people. It includes a successive image acquisition unit that obtains images that are taken while a robot is moving, a local feature quantity extraction unit that extracts a quantity at each feature point from the images, a feature quantity matching unit that performs matching among the quantities in the input images, where quantities are extracted by the extraction unit, an invariant feature quantity calculation unit that calculates an average of the matched quantities among a predetermined number of images by the matching unit as an invariant feature quantity, a distance information acquisition unit that calculates distance information corresponding to each invariant feature quantity based on a position of the robot at times when the images are obtained, and a map generation unit that generates a local metrical map as a hybrid map.

Map generation apparatus, map generation method, moving method for moving body, and robot apparatus

An apparatus and method for detecting defects on a specimen includes an illumination optical unit which obliquely projects a laser onto a region which is longer in one direction on a surface of a specimen than in a transverse direction, a table unit which mounts the specimen and which is movable, a detection optical unit which detects light from the specimen illuminated by the laser with an image sensor while the table is moving, and a signal processor. The signal processor processes a signal outputted from the image sensor of the detection optical unit and converted to a digital signal and extracts defects of the specimen by comparing the converted digital signal with a reference digital signal. A display unit displays information of defects extracted by the signal processor.

Method and apparatus for analyzing the state of generation of foreign particles in semiconductor fabrication process

In order to enable the most suitable image processing condition to be set as one in which a dispersion in brightness between comparing images caused by object to be inspected and an image detecting system is not applied as a false information, in the present invention, there is obtained a noise characteristic of a secondary electron image caused by the image detecting system is calculated, the most suitable image processing parameters are determined depending on the object to be inspected on the basis of the characteristic, and its comparing processing is performed by using the noise characteristic and the image of the object to be inspected, thereby a dispersion in process for the object to be inspected is evaluated.

Method of inspecting a pattern and an apparatus thereof and a method of processing a specimen

Inspection method, apparatus, and system for a circuit pattern, in which when various conditions which are necessary in case of inspecting a fine circuit pattern by using an image formed by irradiating white light, a laser beam, or a charged particle beam are set, its operating efficiency can be improved. An inspection target region of an inspection-subject substrate is displayed, and a designated map picture plane and an image of an optical microscope or an electron beam microscope of a designated region are displayed in parallel, thereby enabling a defect distribution and a defect image to be simultaneously seen. Item names of inspecting conditions and a picture plane to display, input, or instruct the contents of the inspecting conditions are integrated, those contents are overlapped to the picture plane and layer-displayed, and all of the item names are displayed in parallel in a tab format in the upper portion of the picture plane of the contents. When a desired item name is clicked, the picture plane is switched and the contents corresponding to the clicked item name are displayed.

Inspection method, apparatus and system for circuit pattern

A processing method for semiconductor devices in a semiconductor fabrication line includes processing a substrate in a first processing apparatus, transferring the substrate processed in the first processing apparatus to a detecting apparatus without removal of the substrate from the semiconductor fabrication line while continuing fabrication of the semiconductor devices, detecting foreign particle defects on the substrate transferred to the detecting apparatus, and determining a foreign particle generation condition of the processing apparatus based on a data from the detecting.

In order to obtain optimum irradiation conditions of an electron beam according to the material and structure of a circuit pattern to be inspected and the kind of a failure to be detected and inspect under the optimum conditions without delay of the inspection time, an inspection device for irradiating the electron beam to the sample board which is a sample, detecting generated secondary electrons by the detector , storing obtained signals sequentially in the storage, comparing the same pattern stored in the storage by the comparison calculation unit, and extracting a failure by comparing the predetermined threshold value with the comparison signal by the failure decision unit is provided, wherein the optimum value of the irradiation energy is stored in the data base inside the device beforehand according to the structure of a sample and a recommended value of the irradiation energy suited to inspection can be searched for by inputting or selecting the irradiation energy by a user or inputting information regarding the structure of an article to be inspected.

Method of inspecting circuit pattern and inspecting instrument

A semiconductor device producing method and a semiconductor device producing system employs a processing apparatus provided with a dust particle detecting apparatus. The dust particle detecting apparatus measures the condition of adhesion of dust particles adhering to a work at least before or after processing the work, manages the condition of incremental adhesion of dust particles to the work resulting from processing for each lot of works or for each work on the basis of the measured condition of adhesion of dust particles measured before or after processing the work, and determines the time when the processing apparatus is to be cleaned or the cycle of cleaning the processing apparatus on the basis of the managed condition of adhesion of dust particles.

Semiconductor device producing method, system for carrying out the same and semiconductor work processing apparatus included in the same system

Inspection method, apparatus, and system for a circuit pattern in which when various conditions which are necessary in case of inspecting a fine circuit pattern by using an image formed by irradiating white light, a laser beam, or a charged particle beam are set, its operating efficiency can be improved. An inspection target region of an inspection-subject substrate is displayed, and a designated map picture plane and an image of an optical microscope or an electron beam microscope of a designated region are displayed in parallel, thereby enabling a defect distribution and a defect image to be simultaneously seen. Item names of inspecting conditions and a picture plane to display, input, or instruct the contents of the inspecting conditions are integrated, those contents are overlapped to the picture plane and layer-displayed, and all of the item names are displayed in parallel in a tab format in the upper portion of the picture plane of the contents. When a desired item name is clicked, the picture plane is switched and the contents corresponding to the clicked item name are displayed.

Growing community of inventors

Higashimurayama, Japan

Hiroshi Morioka