Hitachi-high-technologies Corporation

Hiroyuki Yamashita

Eiji Imai

Kei Shimura

Masaaki Ito

Yoshio Morishige

Mamoru Kobayashi

Hideki Fukushima

Yukihisa Mohara

Koichi Nagoya

Minori Noguchi

Shuichi Chikamatsu

Kenji Aiko

Masayuki Ochi

Takuaki Sekiguchi

Masami Ooyama

Shigeo Otsuki

Hideyuki Okamoto

Shigeru Abe

Norio Sakaiya

Hidetoshi Nishiyama

Hisashi Hatano

Kazumasa Tanaka

Provided is a pattern defect inspecting apparatus wherein inspection performance is stabilized. The defect inspecting apparatus, which has a plurality of configuration units and inspects defects on the surface of a sample, is provided with a means for monitoring time-dependent changes and failures of some of or all of the configuration units, and a means for notifying the user of the results of the monitoring. Furthermore, a unit which can perform correction is provided with a correcting means, and also a means for replacing a failure component with a spare component which has been prepared in the device.

Apparatus and method for inspecting pattern defect

The invention is directed to find a false defect from defect candidates and obtain a threshold with which the false defect can be eliminated by the smallest number of review times. Defect candidates are reviewed and selected as a defect or a false defect. By deleting a defect candidate having a characteristic quantity equal to or less than that of the false defect from a map or displaying it in another sign, the false defect can be determined visually. Since the defect candidate having the characteristic quantity equal to or less than that of the selected false defect is deleted from the map or displayed in another sign, the defect candidates unnecessary to set a threshold are not reviewed. The number of defect candidates to be reviewed can be largely reduced as compared with that in the conventional technique. Further, by repeating the above work, the threshold is automatically calculated, and an inspection result map with the threshold is displayed, so that a re-inspection is unnecessary.

Inspection apparatus and inspection method

When examination at a scan speed equal to or higher than the line rate of the sensor such as a TDI sensor is carried out, the line rate of the TDI sensor is asynchronous with the scan speed, and the image is blurred. Therefore, a TDI sensor cannot be used at a scan speed equal to or higher than the line rate of the TDI sensor. This problem has not been considered. To solve the problem, high-speed examination irrespective of the line rate of the TDI sensor is enabled. To control the line rate of the TDI sensor and stage scan speed asynchronously and to solve the problem of the image addition variation due to the charge accumulation of the TDI sensor, the object to be examined is irradiated with thin-line illumination, and only a given pixel line of the TDI sensor is made to receive light scattered by the object to be examined. The aspect ratio of the detection pixel size can be controlled by the speed ratio between the line rate of the TDI sensor and the stage scan speed.

Examining apparatus and examining method

An inspection apparatus includes a wafer stage for carrying a wafer, an illumination module which irradiates an inspection beam on the wafer carried on the wafer stage, a detection module which detects scattering rays or reflection rays from the wafer on the wafer stage and outputs an image signal, a coordinates control module which stores information about the arrangement of individual inspection areas on the wafer, and an imperfect area recognition module which recognizes, on the basis of the inspection area arrangement information stored in the coordinates control module, an imperfect inspection area interfering with a wafer edge.

In a foreign matter inspection apparatus comprising: irradiating unit for irradiating inspection light to an inspection area of an article to be inspected; intensity detecting unit for detecting intensity of either reflected light or scattered light, which is generated from the inspection area by irradiating thereto the inspection light; position detecting unit for detecting a position of either the reflected light or the scattered light within the inspection area; and deciding unit for deciding whether or not a foreign matter is present within the inspection area; the foreign matter inspection apparatus is comprised of: display unit capable of displaying thereon both a threshold image in which the threshold value is indicated over an entire area of the inspection area, and a detection sensitivity image indicated by being converted from the threshold image.

Foreign matter inspection method and foreign matter inspection apparatus

Selection with alignment marks of an optimal template, its identification and similarity judgment are conducted by a calculation function of a correlation value provided to a foreign matter inspection apparatus. In other words, the foreign matter inspection apparatus includes unit for registering feature points of alignment marks formed on a surface of an inspected object, unit for collecting image data of the alignment marks formed on the surface of the inspected object and a data processor for extracting a feature point from the image data and calculating a correlation value of both feature points, and registers the image data of the alignment mark on the basis of a threshold value of the correlation value.

Foreign matter inspection apparatus

A defect inspection apparatus includes: stages each mounting an inspecting object on which a circuit pattern having a group of parallel lines is formed, and each running perpendicular or parallel to the group of lines; an illumination optical system which illuminating a surface of the inspecting object with a slit beam being slit light so that a longitudinal direction of the slit beam is substantially perpendicular to the running directions of the stages, and which has a first inclined angle formed by the direction of the group of lines and a projection line, of an optical axis of the slit beam, to the inspecting object; a spatial filter that shields or transmits reflected and scattered light of the inspecting object according to a difference in distribution of orientation; and a detection optical system that detects the reflected and scattered light transmitted through the spatial filter by image sensors. Moreover, the illumination optical system illuminates the inspecting object with another slit beam from a direction opposite to an incident direction of the slit beam on a plane.

Defect inspection apparatus and defect inspection method

Growing community of inventors

Fujioka, Japan

Hiroyuki Yamashita