Ebara Corporation

Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Other

Nikon Corporation

Hirosi Sobukawa

Nobuharu Noji

Tohru Satake

Shoji Yoshikawa

Tsutomu Karimata

Mamoru Nakasuji

Toshifumi Kimba

Masahiro Hatakeyama

Shin Oowada

Takeshi Murakami

Mutsumi Saito

Kenji Watanabe

Muneki Hamashima

Yuichiro Yamazaki

Ichirota Nagahama

Takamitsu Nagai

Toru Takagi

Kenichi Suematsu

Ryo Tajima

Keiichi Tohyama

Yutaka Tabe

Takao Kato

Kazuyoshi Sugihara

Kenji Terao

Yoshihiko Naito

Hiroshi Nishimura

Naoto Kihara

Yukiharu Okubo

Yoshiaki Kohama

Katsuya Okumura

Hiroyuki Shinozaki

Satoshi Mori

Matsutaro Miyamoto

Tatsuhiko Higashiki

Atsushi Shiokawa

Toru Kaga

Mitsumi Saito

Masahiro Hatakayama

Nabuharu Noji

A substrate is irradiated by primary electrons and secondary electrons generated from the substrate are detected by a detector. A reference die is placed on the stage to obtain a pattern matching template image including feature coordinates of the reference die. A pattern matching is performed with an arbitrary die in a row or column including the reference die using the template image to obtain feature coordinates of the arbitrary die. An angle of misalignment is calculated between the direction of the row or column including the reference die and one of the directions of movement of the substrate on the basis of the feature coordinates of the arbitrary die and those of the reference die. The stage is rotated to correct the angle of misalignment to conform the direction of the row or column including the reference die with the one of the directions of movement of the substrate.

Testing apparatus using charged particles and device manufacturing method using the testing apparatus

An electron beam apparatus for capturing images by deflecting a primary electron beam by a deflector to irradiate each of sub-visual fields which are formed by dividing an evaluation area on a sample surface, and detecting secondary electrons containing information on the sample surface in each of the sub-visual fields by a detecting device. The detecting device includes a plurality of unit detectors each including an area sensor, a bundle of optical fibers having one end coupled to a detection plane of the area sensor, and an FOP coated on the other end of the bundle of optical fibers and formed with a scintillator, on which a secondary electron beam emitted from the respective sub-visual field is focused. An electromagnetic deflector deflects the secondary electron beam each time the electron beam is irradiated to the next sub-visual field to move the secondary electron beams over the surfaces of the FOPs.

Electro-optical inspection apparatus using electron beam

An inspection apparatus by an electron beam comprises: an electron-optical devicehaving an electron-optical system for irradiating the object with a primary electron beam from an electron beam source, and a detector for detecting the secondary electron image projected by the electron-optical systems; a stage systemfor holding and moving the object relative to the electron-optical system; a mini-environment chamberfor supplying a clean gas to the object to prevent dust from contacting the object; a working chamberfor accommodating the stage device, the working chamber being controllable so as to have a vacuum atmosphere; at least two loading chambersdisposed between the mini-environment chamber and the working chamber, adapted to be independently controllable so as to have a vacuum atmosphere; and a loaderfor transferring the object to the stage system through the loading chambers.

Inspection system by charged particle beam and method of manufacturing devices using the system

Provided is a method and an apparatus for inspecting a sample surface with high accuracy. Provided is a method for inspecting a sample surface by using an electron beam method sample surface inspection apparatus, in which an electron beam generated by an electron gun of the electron beam method sample surface inspection apparatus is irradiated onto the sample surface, and secondary electrons emanating from the sample surface are formed into an image toward an electron detection plane of a detector for inspecting the sample surface, the method characterized in that a condition for forming the secondary electrons into an image on a detection plane of the detector is controlled such that a potential in the sample surface varies in dependence on an amount of the electron beam irradiated onto the sample surface.

Method and apparatus for inspecting sample surface

A substrate inspection apparatus-(FIG.) of the present invention performs the following steps of: carrying a substrate 'S' to be inspected into an inspection chamber-; maintaining a vacuum in said inspection chamber; isolating said inspection chamber from a vibration; moving successively said substrate by means of a stage-with at least one degree of freedom; irradiating an electron beam having a specified width; helping said electron beam reach to a surface of said substrate via a primary electron optical system-; trapping secondary electrons emitted from said substrate via a secondary electron optical system-and guiding it to a detecting system-; forming a secondary electron image in an image processing system based on a detection signal of a secondary electron beam obtained by said detecting system; detecting a defective location in said substrate based on the secondary electron image formed by said image processing system; indicating and/or storing said defective location in said substrate by CPU-; and taking said completely inspected substrate out of the inspection chamber. Thereby, the defect inspection on the substrate can be performed successively with high level of accuracy and efficiency as well as with higher throughput.

Apparatus for inspection with electron beam, method for operating same, and method for manufacturing semiconductor device using former

An inspection apparatus by an electron beam comprises: an electron-optical devicehaving an electron-optical system for irradiating the object with a primary electron beam from an electron beam source, and a detector for detecting the secondary electron image projected by the electron-optical system; a stage systemfor holding and moving the object relative to the electron-optical system; a mini-environment chamberfor supplying a clean gas to the object to prevent dust from contacting to the object; a working chamberfor accommodating the stage device, the working chamber being controllable so as to have a vacuum atmosphere; at least two loading chambersdisposed between the mini-environment chamber and the working chamber, adapted to be independently controllable so as to have a vacuum atmosphere; and a loaderfor transferring the object to the stage system through the loading chambers.

A system for further enhancing speed, i.e. improving throughput in a SEM-type inspection apparatus is provided. An inspection apparatus for inspecting a surface of a substrate produces a crossover from electrons emitted from an electron beam source, then forms an image under a desired magnification in the direction of a sample W to produce a crossover. When the crossover is passed, electrons as noises are removed from the crossover with an aperture, an adjustment is made so that the crossover becomes a parallel electron beam to irradiate the substrate in a desired sectional form. The electron beam is produced such that the unevenness of illuminance is 10% or less. Electrons emitted from the sample W are detected by a detector

Provided is a defect inspection apparatus and an inspection (or evaluation) method with highly improved accuracy, which would not be provided by the prior art, in the defect inspection apparatus used in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device. Provided is a method for inspecting a sample surface with a projection type electron beam inspection apparatus, comprising the steps of: forming such an irradiation area on the sample surface by an electron beam generated from an electron gunthat has approximately a circular or elliptical shape of a size larger than a pattern on the sample surface; irradiating the electron beam substantially onto a center of the pattern on the sample surface; and forming an image on an electron detection plane of a detector from secondary electrons emanating from the sample surface in response to the irradiation of the electron beam for inspecting the sample surface.

Apparatus and method for inspecting sample surface

The present invention provides an electron beam apparatus for irradiating a sample with primary electron beams to detect secondary electron beams generated from a surface of the sample by the irradiation for evaluating the sample surface. In the electron beam apparatus, an electron gun has a cathode for emitting primary electron beams. The cathode includes a plurality of emitters for emitting primary electron beams, arranged apart from one another on a circle centered at an optical axis of a primary electro-optical system. The plurality of emitters are arranged such that when the plurality of emitters are projected onto a straight line parallel with a direction in which the primary electron beams are scanned, resulting points on the straight line are spaced at equal intervals.

Electron beam apparatus and method of manufacturing semiconductor device using the apparatus

An electron beam apparatus for providing an evaluation of a sample, such as a semiconductor wafer, that includes a micro-pattern with a minimum line width not greater than 0.1 &#x3bc;m with high throughput. A primary electron beam generated by an electron gun is irradiated onto a sample and secondary electrons emanating from the sample are formed into an image on a detector by an image projection optical system. An electron gunhas a cathodeand a drawing electrode, and an electron emission surfaceof the cathode defines a concave surface. The drawing electrodehas a convex surfacecomposed of a partial outer surface of a second sphere facing the electron emission surfaceof the cathode and an apertureformed through the convex surface for passage of the electrons. An aberration correction optical apparatus comprises two identically sized multi-polar Wien filters arranged such that their centers are in alignment with a &#xbc; plane position and a &#xbe; plane position, respectively, along an object plane-image plane segment in the aberration correction optical apparatus, and optical elements having bidirectional focus disposed in an object plane position, an intermediate image-formation plane position and an image plane position, respectively, in the aberration correction optical apparatus.

Electron beam apparatus and an aberration correction optical apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Hirosi Sobukawa