Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi Displays, Ltd.

Kazushi Yoshimura

Takashi Hiroi

Shunji Maeda

Yutaka Kaneko

Maki Tanaka

Hiroyuki Shinada

Yusuke Yajima

Mari Nozoe

Hitoshi Kubota

Haruo Yoda

Yasutsugu Usami

Katsuhiro Kuroda

Aritoshi Sugimoto

Atsuko Takafuji

Katsuya Sugiyama

Kimiaki Ando

Hiroshi Tooyama

Tadao Ino

Takanori Ninomiya

Toshihiko Nakata

Toshimitsu Hamada

Masahiro Watanabe

Chie Shishido

Tetsuya Kawamura

Mikio Hongo

Asahiro Kuni

Tetsuya Matsui

Mineo Nomoto

Yasuo Nakagawa

Masaaki Okunaka

Hideaki Doi

Hiroshi Makihira

Nobuaki Nakasu

Yuichiro Tanaka

Tatsuo Hariyama

Takehiro Tachizaki

Hiroya Koshishiba

Takeshi Arai

Hiroaki Kasai

Mitsunobu Isobe

Shigenobu Maruyama

Satoru Todoroki

Hideyuki Honoki

Hilario Haruomi Kobayashi

Hideo Matsuzaki

Haruomi Kobayashi

Ninomiya Takanori

Fumikazu Ito

Kohichi Karasaki

Kaoru Yamada

Masanori Okawa

An internal defect inspection method where an ultrasonic wave is emitted from an ultrasonic wave transmitter toward a sample, the ultrasonic wave reflected by the sample is detected by an imaging type common-path interferometer as an interference signal, an ultrasonic wave signal is obtained from the interference signal, and any defect within the sample is detected from the ultrasonic wave signal. An internal defect inspection apparatus including an ultrasonic wave transmitter, an imaging type common-path interferometer and an ultrasonic wave signal detecting device is also provided.

Internal defect inspection method and apparatus for the same

A region surrounded by two gate wiring and two drain wiring includes pixels and when there is a defect of short-circuit in adjacent pixel electrodes, the short-circuited portion is removed by irradiating a laser via a mask having a transmission pattern, which corresponds to a pattern of the gate wiring, drain wiring and pixel electrodes in the short-circuited portion. The above short-circuited portion is identified and removed in comparison to a normal pattern, by use of information from an inspection apparatus, and the pattern defect formed on the substrate is automatically repaired. By applying the above method to a manufacturing process of display apparatus, in particular, to a resist pattern forming process, a display apparatus having a highly qualified display property may be achieved.

Apparatus for repairing circuit pattern and method for manufacturing display apparatus using the same

A circuit pattern inspection method and an apparatus therefore, in which the whole of a portion to be inspected of a sample to be inspected is made to be in a predetermined changed state, the portion to be inspected is irradiated with an image-forming high-density electron beam while scanning the electron beam, secondary charged particles are detected at a portion irradiated with the electron beam after a predetermined period of time from an instance when the electron beam is irradiated, an image is formed on the basis of the thus detected secondary charged particle signal, and the portion to be inspected is inspected by using the thus formed image.

Method and apparatus for inspecting integrated circuit pattern

A circuit pattern inspection method and an apparatus therefor, in which the whole of a portion to be inspected of a sample to be inspected is made to be in a predetermined charged state, the portion to be inspected is irradiated with an image-forming high-density electron beam while scanning the electron beam, secondary charged particles are detected at a portion irradiated with the electron beam after a predetermined period of time from an instance when the electron beam is irradiated, an image is formed on the basis of the thus detected secondary charged particle signal, and the portion to be inspected is inspected by using the thus formed image.

To make possible the in-line inspection of a pattern of an insulating material. A patterned waferformed with a pattern by a resist film is placed on a specimen tableof a patterned wafer inspection apparatusin opposed relation to a SEM. An electron beamof a large current is emitted from an electron gunand the pattern of the patterned wafer is scanned only once at a high scanning rate. The secondary electrons generated by this scanning from the patterned wafer are detected by a secondary electron detectorthereby to acquire an electron beam image. Using this electron beam image, the comparative inspection is conducted on the patterned wafer through an arithmetic operation unitand a defect determining unitSince an electron beam image of high contrast can be obtained by scanning an electron beam only once, a patterned wafer inspection method using a SEM can be implemented in the IC fabrication method.

In order to provide a high-speed, inexpensive inspection system that has a short development period, that is flexible, and that allow algorithms to be easily changed, a PC equipped with an image input feature is used to capture an image detected by a line image sensor, this detected image is transferred to a plurality of PCs connected by a LAN, and defects are detected using software processing on the plurality of PCs.

Inspection system for circuit patterns and a method thereof

A circuit pattern inspection method and an apparatus therefor, in which the whole of a portion to be inspected of a sample to be inspected is made to be in a predetermined charged state, the portion to be inspected is irradiated with an image-forming high-density electron beam while scanning the electron beam, secondary charged particles are detected at a portion irradiated with: the electron beam after a predetermined period of time from an instance when the electron beam is irradiated, an image is formed on the basis of the thus detected secondary charged particle signal, and the portion to be inspected is inspected by using the thus formed image.

A method and apparatus for inspecting wirings of an electronic circuit substrate to detect a defect in the wiring and for enabling correction thereof. The inspection method and apparatus include electrostatically coupling at least one electrode to a wiring pattern, applying a time varying voltage between the electrode and wiring pattern at different locations so as to detect a current flow and determine a defect by a variation in the detected current flow at the different locations and a portion of the defect. A defect in the form of a disconnected or half-disconnected point of the wiring may be corrected by supplying a solution of a metal complex to the disconnected or half-disconnected point, heating the solution and end point areas of the disconnected or half-disconnected point by laser light and precipitating a metal thin film establishing a connection of the wiring.

Method and apparatus for inspection and correction of wiring of

A method and an apparatus for detecting a photoacoustic signal are provided which irradiate an excitation light beam, modulated by a desired frequency, simultaneously to a plurality of points being measured on a surface of a sample, irradiate the excitation light and a probe light simultaneously to the plurality of the points being measured, detect an interference light of a reflected light beam of the probe light and a specified reference light with a detector made up of a plurality of photoelectric converting elements corresponding to the respective points being measured, the detector being in conjugate relation with the surface of the sample, detect a thermal distortion of the frequency component equal to the intensity-modulated frequency at the plurality of the points being measured from the interference light intensity signal detected by the detector, and detect information relative to the surface and the subsurface of the measuring points on the sample from the thermal distortion of the frequency component. A plurality of measuring points on a specimen are excited simultaneously with an intensity-modulated flat light beam and the thermal expansion displacements of the measuring points are detected simultaneously by interference between a flat probe light beam and a flat reference light beam to detect photothermal displacement signals representing the photothermal displacements of the plurality of measuring points simultaneously.

Method and apparatus for detecting photoacoustic signal to detect

A detected pattern is binarized, the binarized pattern is expanded, an image size is reduced while a connectivity of the expanded pattern is preserved and stored in a first memory. In turn, the binarized pattern is contracted, the image size is reduced while a connectivity of the contracted pattern is preserved and stored in a second memory. Then the expanded pattern is read out from the first memory and a connectivity of the pattern is selected. The contracted pattern is read out from the second pattern and the connectivity of the pattern is extracted. The selected connectivities are compared with the connectivity of a normal pattern to detect a non-coincidence. The circuit pattern having a short circuit or a semi-short circuit defect and a circuit pattern having an open circuit or a semi-open circuit defect are classified and selected in response to these non-coincidences. Further, a pattern shape stored in the first memory is analyzed to specify the position where the short circuit or a semi-short circuit defect is present.

Method for pattern inspection and apparatus therefor

An apparatus for inspecting an appearance of soldered portions connected between the pads formed on a printed circuit board and leads of an electronic body part. A slit light beam is directed to portions to be inspected and scanned thereon with a light fluorescent image generated from the substrate portion of the printed circuit board and a dark fluorescent image generated from the leads, pads and soldered portions being detected with an image signal being generated in accordance therewith. The image signal is binarized and different functions are extracted from the binarized signal which functions are utilized in connection with other functions and previously obtained data to determine whether an abnormal portion is present or not in a predetermined position on the circuit board.

Apparatus and method for inspecting soldered portions

In a method and apparatus for detecting the edge of a fine pattern formed on a specimen such as a fine circuit pattern formed on a semiconductor element or the like, there is prepared a predetermined model waveform based on theoretical secondary electron emission from the edge portion. Secondary electrons emitted from successive scanning points across the pattern edge portion through the irradiation of a scanning electron beam thereonto are detected to produce an actual signal waveform reflecting the secondary electron emission from the pattern edge portion. The actual signal waveform is compared with the model waveform, and one of the scanning points at which the highest coincidence exists between both the actual and model waveforms, is determined as a position of the pattern edge.

Method and apparatus for detecting edge of fine pattern on specimen

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Kamakura, Japan

Kazushi Yoshimura