Applied Materials Israel Limited

Ori Golani

Ido Almog

Harel Ilan

Haim Feldman

Doron Korngut

Eyal Neistein

Guy Shwartz

Itamar Shani

Shahar Arad

Disclosed herein is a method for non-destructive hybrid acousto-optic and scanning electron microscopy-based metrology. The method includes: (i) obtaining acousto-optic and scanning electron microscopy measurement data of an inspected structure on a sample; (ii) processing the measurement data to extract values of key measurement parameters corresponding to the acousto-optic measurement data and the scanning electron microscopy measurement data, respectively; and (iii) obtaining estimated values of one or more structural parameters of the inspected structure by inputting the extracted values into an algorithm, which is configured to jointly process the extracted values to output estimated values of the one or more structural parameters.

Hybrid scanning electron microscopy and acousto-optic based metrology

Disclosed herein is a method for depth-profiling of samples including a target region including a lateral structural feature. The method includes projecting an optical pump pulse on a semiconductor device comprising a target region, such as to produce an acoustic pulse which propagates within the target region of the semiconductor device, wherein a wavelength of the pump pulse is at least two times greater than a lateral extent of a lateral structural feature of the semiconductor device along at least one lateral direction, projecting an optical probe pulse on the semiconductor device, such that the probe pulse undergoes Brillouin scattering off the acoustic pulse within the target region, detecting a scattered component of the probe pulse to obtain a measured signal, and analyzing the measured signal to obtain a depth-dependence of at least one parameter characterizing the lateral structural feature.

Depth profiling of semiconductor structures using picosecond ultrasonics

Disclosed herein is a method for detecting defects on a sample. The method includes obtaining scan data of a region of a sample in a multiplicity of perspectives, and performing an integrated analysis of the obtained scan data. The integrated analysis includes computing, based on the obtained scan data, and/or estimating cross-perspective covariances, and determining presence of defects in the region, taking into account the cross-perspective covariances.

Multi-perspective wafer analysis

Disclosed herein is a method for depth-profiling of samples including a target region including a lateral structural feature. The method includes obtaining measured signals of the sample and analyzing thereof to obtain a depth-dependence of at least one parameter characterizing the lateral structural feature. The measured signals are obtained by repeatedly: projecting a pump pulse on the sample, thereby producing an acoustic pulse propagating within the target region; Brillouin-scattering a probe pulse off the acoustic pulse within the target region; and detecting a scattered component of the probe pulse to obtain a measured signal. In each repetition the respective probe pulse is scattered off the acoustic pulse at a respective depth within the target region, thereby probing the target region at a plurality of depths. A wavelength of the pump pulse is at least about two times greater than a lateral extent of the lateral structural feature.

Disclosed herein is a computerized system including scanning equipment configured to obtain multi-perspective scan data of a slice on a sample. The scanning equipment includes: (i) a light source configured to generate a light beam; (ii) an acousto-optic deflector (AOD) configured to focus the light beam such as to generate a beam train scanned along consecutive lines on the slice, in groups of n&#x2265;2 successively scanned lines, along each of which the beam train forms at least one illumination spot, respectively; and (iii) one or more detectors configured to sense light returned from the slice. The n&#x2265;2 lines are scanned different perspectives, respectively. The consecutive lines may be longitudinally displaced relative to one another, such as to overlap in 100&#xb7;(n&#x2212;1)/n % of widths thereof, so that the slice may be fully scanned in each of the perspectives.

Multi-perspective wafer analysis using an acousto-optic deflector

There is provided a system and a method comprising obtaining data representative of potential defects in at least one image of a semiconductor specimen, for each potential defect of at least a first subset of potential defects of the semiconductor specimen, obtaining pixel values representative of the potential defect in multiple images of the specimen which differ from each other by at least one parameter, classifying the potential defects into a plurality of first clusters, for each first cluster, building, based on pixel values representative of potential defects, at least one first matching filter for the first cluster, for at least a given potential defect not belonging to the first subset, determining whether it corresponds to a defect based on the first matching filters associated with the plurality of first clusters.

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Ramat Gan, Israel

Ori Golani