Nuflare Technology, Inc.

Masaya Takeda

Ikunao Isomura

Eiji Matsumoto

According to an embodiment, an inspection apparatus includes: a stage; an illumination optical system; an imaging optical system including a sensor that detects a focal position; a detection circuit configured to detect a focal position signal of the light; a setting circuit configured to set a first focus offset value of a first region based on a result obtained by shifting, in an advancement direction of the stage, coordinate data of first focal position data generated based on a result obtained by optically scanning the first region; and a control circuit configured to control a height position of the stage based on the focal position signal and the first focus offset value.

Inspection apparatus and focal position adjustment method

A method according to an embodiment includes: mounting a reference-specimen of a same material as that of a specimen on a support member and creating a map indicating a distortion in a gravity direction of the reference-specimen; mounting the specimen on the support member and irradiating light to the specimen; correcting a linear component of a distortion in a gravity direction of the specimen between a first point on the specimen and a second point located in the first scanning direction on the specimen on a basis of a first difference in the gravity direction between the first and second points in the map, and correcting a secondary component of the distortion in the gravity direction of the specimen using a feedback circuit, when the pattern is imaged; and performing a defect inspection using an image of the pattern.

Pattern inspection method and pattern inspection apparatus

An inspection apparatus according to an embodiment includes: an optical image acquisition circuitry virtually dividing a sample into strip-shaped stripes, and acquiring an optical image; a reference image generation circuitry generating a reference image corresponding to the optical image; a comparison circuitry comparing the optical image and the reference image; a shift amount determination circuitry determining a shift amount between the optical image and the reference image, and generating an evaluation value; and an offset value calculation circuitry determining usage of the shift amount, and calculating an offset value for adjusting an acquisition position of the optical image. In a case where the offset value is calculated, the optical image acquisition circuitry acquires the optical image based on the offset value.

Inspection apparatus and inspection method

An inspection method and apparatus comprising, acquiring a plurality of optical images of a sample in which a plurality of dies having repetitive pattern are provided, comparing the optical images to each other by a die-to-die method and detecting a defect, obtaining at least one of a dimension difference and a dimension ratio between the repetitive pattern of the optical image to be inspected and the repetitive pattern of the optical image to be reference in the die-to-die method, extracting a die of the optical image having the dimension difference or dimension ratio closest to that at a defect position of a die of the optical image in which the defect is detected, compared, and stored, and determining that the defect does not exist in the optical image when the defect is not detected from the optical image in which the defect is originally detected.

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Yokohama, Japan

Masaya Takeda