Kla Tencor Corporation

Kla-tencor Technologies Corporation

Kla Corporation

International Business Machines Corporation

Kenong Wu

Lisheng Gao

Eugene Shifrin

Hong Chen

Hucheng Lee

Junqing Huang

Ashok V Kulkarni

David W Shortt

Grace Hsiu-Ling Chen

Michal Kowalski

David Winslow Randall

Ariel Tribble

Ramon Ynzunza

Xiaochun Li

Tao Luo

Masatoshi Yamaoka

Michael John Van Riet

James A Smith

Tong Huang

Raghav Babulnath

Sharon McCauley

Songnian Rong

Ingrid B Peterson

Chris W Lee

Nurmohammed Patwary

Jianxin Zhang

Shishir Suman

Shuo Sun

David Craig Oram

Abhinav Mathur

Kourosh Nafisi

Aravindh Balaji

Qing Luo

Meng-Che Wu

Michael Cook

Bjorn Brauer

Andre Pierre Gueziec

Martin Plihal

Brian Duffy

Allen Park

Jason Z Lin

Ellis Chang

Ajay Gupta

Mohan Mahadevan

Grace H Chen

Alan David Kalvin

Patrick Huet

Jason Kirkwood

Khurram Zafar

Chien-Huei Adam Chen

Yan Xiong

Gordon Rouse

Soren Konecky

Ankit Jain

Thirupurasundari Jayaraman

Cecelia Anne Campochiaro

Tommaso Torelli

Sandeep Bhagwat

Christopher Maher

Willie Williamson, Jr

Ping Gu

Satya Kurada

Srikanth Kandukuri

Xing Chu

Naoshin Haque

Oksen Toros Baris

Gangadharan Sivaraman

Pavan Kumar

Ravikumar Sanapala

Rahul Lakhawat

Vivekanand Kini

Wei Si

Govind Thattaisundaram

Maruti Shanbhag

Avijit K Ray-Chaudhuri

Vivek Bhagat

Rajesh Ramachandran

Yi Liu

Leon Yu

Paul Russell

Liu-Ming Wu

Bo Magluyan

Kevin Yeung

Neil Troy

Heonju Shin

Jusang Maeng

Anil Raman

Praveen Gunasekaran

Vidur Pandita

Systems and methods for detecting defects on a reticle are provided. One system is configured for generating different stacked difference images for multiple instances of first patterned areas in different rows on a wafer based on images generated for the first patterned areas in the different rows. The system is also configured for performing double detection based on the different stacked difference images. The system then identifies defects on the reticle based on the defects detected by the double detection. As described further herein, the systems and methods detect defects from multiple reticle rows printed on a wafer, which can reduce noise and enable detection of substantially small repeater defects. The embodiments are particularly useful for high sensitivity repeater defect detection for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) reticles and multi-die reticles (MDR).

Print check repeater defect detection

Systems and methods for detecting defects on a reticle are provided. One system includes computer subsystem(s) configured for performing at least one repeater defect detection step in front-end processing during an inspection process performed on a wafer having features printed in a lithography process using a reticle. The at least one repeater defect detection step performed in the front-end processing includes identifying any defects detected at corresponding locations in two or more test images by double detection and any defects detected by stacked defect detection as first repeater defect candidates. One or more additional repeater defect detections may be performed on the first repeater defect candidates to generate final repeater defect candidates and identify defects on the reticle from the final repeater defect candidates.

A system, method, and non-transitory computer readable medium are provided for tuning sensitivities of, and determining a process window for, a modulated wafer. The sensitivities for dies of the modulated wafer are tuned dynamically based on a single set of parameters. Further, the process window is determined for the modulated wafer from prior determined parameter-specific nominal process windows.

System, method and non-transitory computer readable medium for tuning sensitivities of, and determining a process window for, a modulated wafer

Methods and systems for transforming positions of defects detected on a wafer are provided. One method includes aligning output of an inspection subsystem for a first frame in a first swath in a first die in a first instance of a multi-die reticle printed on the wafer to the output for corresponding frames, swaths, and dies in other reticle instances printed on the wafer. The method also includes determining different swath coordinate offsets for each of the frames, respectively, in the other reticle instances based on the swath coordinates of the output for the frames and the corresponding frames aligned thereto and applying one of the different swath coordinate offsets to the swath coordinates reported for the defects based on the other reticle instances in which they are detected thereby transforming the swath coordinates for the defects from swath coordinates in the other reticle instances to the first reticle instance.

High accuracy of relative defect locations for repeater analysis

Methods and systems for detecting defects in a logic region on a wafer are provided. One method includes acquiring information for different types of design-based care areas in a logic region of a wafer. The method also includes designating the different types of the design-based care areas as different types of sub-regions and, for a localized area within the logic region, assigning two or more instances of the sub-regions located in the localized area to a super-region. In addition, the method includes generating one scatter plot for all of the two or more instances of the sub-regions assigned to the super-region. The one scatter plot is generated with different segmentation values for the output corresponding to the different types of the sub-regions. The method further includes detecting defects in the sub-regions based on the one scatter plot.

Detecting defects in a logic region on a wafer

System, method and non-transitory computer readable medium for tuning sensitivies of, and determining a process window for, a modulated wafer

A method may include, but is not limited to, receiving a plurality of reference images of a wafer. The method may include, but is not limited to, receiving the plurality of test images of the wafer. The method may include, but is not limited to, aligning the plurality of reference images and the plurality of test images via a coarse alignment process. The method may include, but is not limited to, aligning the plurality of reference images and the plurality of test images via a fine alignment process after alignment via the coarse alignment process. The fine alignment process may include measuring individual offsets and correcting individual offset data between at least one of the plurality of reference images and the plurality of test images.

System and method for aligning semiconductor device reference images and test images

Methods and systems for detecting defects on a wafer using adaptive local thresholding and color filtering are provided. One method includes determining local statistics of pixels in output for a wafer generated using an inspection system, determining which of the pixels are outliers based on the local statistics, and comparing the outliers to the pixels surrounding the outliers to identify the outliers that do not belong to a cluster of outliers as defect candidates. The method also includes determining a value for a difference in color between the pixels of the defect candidates and the pixels surrounding the defect candidates. The method further includes identifying the defect candidates that have a value for the difference in color greater than or equal to a predetermined value as nuisance defects and the defect candidates that have a value for the difference in color less than the predetermined value as real defects.

Adaptive local threshold and color filtering

Systems and methods are disclosed for storing dynamic layer content in a design file. A design file is received having design data corresponding to a plurality of process layers. A geometric operation formula is also received. A processor generates a polygon having dynamic layer content that is formed by applying the geometric operation formula on two or more of the plurality of process layers. The updated design file is stored, the design file now having a polygon having dynamic layer content.

Methods to store dynamic layer content inside a design file

A method includes identifying a first set of a first care area with a first sensitivity threshold, the first care area associated with a first design of interest within a block of repeating cells in design data; identifying an additional set of an additional care area with an additional sensitivity threshold, the additional care area associated with an additional design of interest within the block of repeating cells in design data; identifying one or more defects within the first set of the first care areas in one or more images of a selected region of a sample based on the first sensitivity threshold; and identifying one or more defects within the additional set of the additional care areas in the one or more images of the selected region of the sample based on the additional sensitivity threshold.

System and method for defining care areas in repeating structures of design data

Systems and methods for classifying defects detected on a wafer are provided. One method includes detecting defects on a wafer based on output generated for the wafer by an inspection system. The method also includes determining one or more attributes for at least one of the defects based on portions of a standard reference image corresponding to the at least one of the defects. The method further includes classifying the at least one of the defects based at least in part on the one or more determined attributes.

Defect detection and classification based on attributes determined from a standard reference image

Methods and systems for detecting defects on a wafer using defect-specific and multi-channel information are provided. One method includes acquiring information for a target on a wafer. The target includes a pattern of interest (POI) formed on the wafer and a known defect of interest (DOI) occurring proximate to or in the POI. The method also includes detecting the known DOI in target candidates by identifying potential DOI locations based on images of the target candidates acquired by a first channel of an inspection system and applying one or more detection parameters to images of the potential DOI locations acquired by a second channel of the inspection system. Therefore, the image(s) used for locating potential DOI locations and the image(s) used for detecting defects can be different.

Detecting defects on a wafer using defect-specific and multi-channel information

Systems and methods for detecting defects on a wafer are provided. One method includes generating test image(s) for at least a portion of an array region in die(s) on a wafer from frame image(s) generated by scanning the wafer with an inspection system. The method also includes generating a reference image for cell(s) in the array region from frame images generated by the scanning of the wafer. In addition, the method includes determining difference image(s) for at least one cell in the at least the portion of the array region in the die(s) by subtracting the reference image from portion(s) of the test image(s) corresponding to the at least one cell. The method further includes detecting defects on the wafer in the at least one cell based on the difference image(s).

Array mode repeater detection

Repeater detection

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Davis, CA, United States of America

Kenong Wu