Hitachi-high-technologies Corporation

Keiichiro Hitomi

Yoshinori Nakayama

Yasunari Sohda

Hajime Koyanagi

Junichi Tanaka

Kaori Shirahata

Muneyuki Fukuda

Takeyoshi Ohashi

Seiko Omori

In order to provide a pattern dimension measurement method with a small measured error and excellent reproducibility even though defocus occurs and a charged particle beam microscope used in the same, in a method for applying a charged particle beam to a specimen formed with a pattern to measure a pattern dimension from a signal intensity distribution of signal charged particles from the specimen, edge index positions (X) and (X) on the right and left of the maximum point of signal intensity corresponding to a pattern edge are calculated by a threshold method, and a pattern edge position (Xe) is found from a mean value between the positions. Thus, it is possible to reduce the influence of defocus on the pattern edge position (Xe).

Pattern dimension measurement method and charged particle beam microscope used in same

Disclosed is a scanning electron microscope provided with a calculation device () for measuring the dimension of a pattern on a sample (), characterized in that the amount of change of a pattern shape, caused by electron beam irradiation, is calculated and stored, and a pattern shape contour () before the sample is irradiated with an electron beam is restored from a pattern shape contour () in a scanning electron microscope image () after the sample is irradiated with an electron beam using the calculated amount and, then, the pattern shape contour () is displayed. Thus, the shrinking of a resist and/or the effect of electrostatic charge caused when a sample is irradiated with an electron beam are eliminated, so that the shape contour of a two-dimensional pattern before irradiating an electron beam can be restored with a high degree of accuracy, and the dimension of a pattern can be measured with a high degree of accuracy, using the restored image.

Scanning electron microscope

Provided is a high-resolution scanning electron microscope with minimal aberration, and equipped with an electro-optical configuration that can form a tilted beam having wide-angle polarization and a desired angle, without interfering with an electromagnetic lens. In the scanning electron microscope, an electromagnetic deflector () is disposed above a magnetic lens (), and a control electrode () that accelerates or decelerates electrons is provided so at to overlap (in such a manner that the height positions overlap with respect to the vertical direction) with the electromagnetic deflector (). In wide field polarization, electrodes are accelerated, and in tilted beam formation, electrons are decelerated.

Scanning electron microscope and inspection method using same

In order to provide a charged beam device capable of obtaining a precise image of a sample surface pattern while improving the accuracy of automatic focus/astigmatism correction, there are provided an electron gun (), a deflection control portion () which allows an electron beam to scan, a focus control portion () and an astigmatism correction portion () for the electron beam, an image processing portion (), and a switching portion () which switches scan conditions when obtaining pattern information of the sample () surface and scan conditions when performing the automatic focus/astigmatism correction, and a scan speed and scan procedures are switched between when obtaining the pattern information and when performing the automatic focus/astigmatism correction.

Charged beam device

Disclosed is a standard specimen, used with an electron microscope to correct the magnification with high precision. A standard member used for correction corrects a scanning electron microscope that measures a pattern within an observation region based on information about the secondary electrons generated by scanning incident electron lines on the observation region on a measurement specimen, or information about the reflected electron intensity. The standard member has a first pattern region that corrects the magnification and that comprises a concavo-convex pattern (line/space pattern) in the cross section of a multilayer film that has been laminated, and a second pattern region near the first pattern at almost the same height that does not contain a pattern with the same periodicity as the pattern pitch size of the first region and that is used for beam adjustment.

Standard member for correction, scanning electron microscope using same, and scanning electron microscope correction method

The invention provides a standard component for calibration that enables a calibration position to be easily specified in order to calibrate accurately a scale factor in the electron-beam system, and provides an electron-beam system using it. The standard component for calibration is one that calibrates a scale factor of an electron-beam system based on a signal of secondary charged particles detected by irradiation of a primary electron beam on a substrate having a cross section of a superlattice of a multi-layer structure in which different materials are deposited alternately. The substrate has linear patterns on the substrate surface parallel to the multi-layers and are arranged at a fixed interval in a direction crossing the cross section of the superlattice pattern, and the cross sections of the linear patterns are on substantially the same plane of the superlattice cross section, so that the linear patterns enable a position of the superlattice pattern to be identified.

Standard component for calibration and electron-beam system using the same

In method and apparatus for obtaining a scanning electron microscope image devoid of distortion by measuring a scanning distortion and calibrating the scanning distortion, there occurs a problem that an error takes place in dimension control owing to a scanning distortion of an electron beam. To cope with this problem, an image is obtained by scanning a predetermined region with the electron beam, a plurality of regions are selected from the image, the pattern pitch is measured in each of the regions and a scanning distortion amount is calculated from the result of measurement and then corrected.

Scanning electron microscope and calibration of image distortion

Correction of widths obtained by measurement of a sample with the use of a scanning electron microscope is executed with greater precision. A standard sample for correction comprises a plurality of correction mark members, the respective correction mark members, being lined up at specified intervals in a specified direction, and respective widths thereof, in the specified direction, differing from each other so as to be of respective sizes as pre-set. Measurement of the respective widths of the correction mark members is made to obtain respective measurement widths while authorized widths of the correction mark members are kept stored in an image processing unit of the scanning electron microscope to thereby find differences between the respective measurement widths, and authorized widths corresponding thereto, and the differences are stored as respective correction functions to correct the measurement width of the sample.

Charged particle beam measurement equipment, size correction and standard sample for correction

The present invention provides a standard reference component for calibration for performing magnification calibration used in the scanning electron microscope with high precision, and provides a scanning electron microscope technique using it. Provided is a standard reference component for calibration for calibrating a scanning electron microscope that measures a length of a pattern in an observation area from information on the intensity of secondary electrons or reflected electrons generated by scanning an incident electron beam in the observation area on a measuring sample, having: a first substrate on which a multiple-layer is laminated and a second substrate with a recess for holding the first substrate, wherein the first substrate is held in the recess of the second substrate so that a normal direction of the multiple-layer surface may be roughly perpendicular to a normal direction of the second substrate surface, and the multiple-layer has a multiple-layer structure of a film containing silicon and a film containing molybdenum.

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Delmar, NY, United States of America

Keiichiro Hitomi