Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Adv Antest Corporation

Act Advanced Circuit Testing Gesellschaft Fur Testsystementwicklung Mbh

Act Advanced Circuit Testing Gesellschaft Fur Testsystementwicklung

Reinhold Schmitt

Matthias Brunner

Stefan Lanio

Burkhard Lischke

Gerald Schonecker

J&uuml;rgen Frosien

Dieter Winkler

Juergen Frosien

Hans-Peter Feuerbaum

Thomas Jasinski

Hans-Joachim Freygang

Panajotis Margaris

A method and a system for testing an electrical component in a non-contact manner at high speed with high reliability. The method includes the steps of positioning a primary particle beam onto the component, supplying an AC-signal to the electrode being positioned in front of the component and varying the frequency of the AC-signal, detecting secondary particles released at the component and penetrating the electrode to form a secondary particle signal, and evaluating the corresponding secondary particle signal.

Method and system for testing an electrical component

The invention relates to a charged particle beam device and a method for inspecting a specimen, comprising a source for generating a charged particle beam, an objective lens with an optical axis for focussing said charged particle beam on a specimen, which consists of a magnetic lens and a superimposed electrostatic lens having at least two electrodes, deflection means for deflecting said charged particle beam on said specimen and detector means for detecting charged particles released at said specimen. The invention is further characterized by control means co-acting with said deflection means and one of the electrodes of the electrostatic lens for applying a dynamic voltage to said electrode, the amount of the voltage being dependent on the distance of said charged particle beam from said optical axis at the specimen, in order to increase the efficiency of detecting said charged particles released at image areas being located on the specimen with distance from the optical axis.

Dynamically compensated objective lens-detection device and method

An optical unit having an electrostatic lens for influencing a particle beam wherein the lens has at least one first and one second electrode downstream of one another in the direction of the particle beam, each of the electrodes being chargeable with a potential and in electrical contact with a high-resistance body having a channel therethrough for the particle beam. A further component is provided for influencing the particle beam in the region of the electrostatic lens.

Optical unit

A deflection system (6) for a charged particle beam (2), in particular for rrangement in an objective lens for a charged particle beam device with a deflection means (60) for generating a magnetic field acting on the charged particle beam (2) and a shield (61) for avoiding eddy currents, which surrounds the deflection means and guides the formed outer magnetic field. The shield (61) consists, transversely to the direction of the charged particle beam (2), of at least one soft magnetic layer which is preferably formed as a strip material and rolled up to a cylinder together with an electrically insulating layer.

Deflection system

Method for particle beam testing of substrates for liquid crystal displays (LCD). This is directed to methods wherein, given a substrate (SUB1) for a liquid crystal display, either potentials or, respectively, currents are set in defined fashion with a particle beam (S1, S2 and S4) and/or potentials are measured by detecting secondary electrons (S5) at different switch statuses of the switch elements (T) of the substrate (SUB1). The geometrical integrity and the electrical functionability of the substrate (SUB1) are thereby tested, even though, for example, a supplementary plane electrode is not present for forming a capacitor. An important advantage of the method is that faulty substrates can be repaired or can be segregated even before further-processing and, thus, costs can be reduced.

Method for particle beam testing of substrates for liquid crystal

A particle beam testing method wherein with the assistance of at least one adjustment voltage, an actual specimen voltage boost is produced at a measuring point of a specimen and wherein a reference specimen voltage boost for the measuring point is supplied to a retarding field, and as a result, the actual specimen voltage boost corresponds to the reference specimen voltage boost of the measuring point and, thus, a detector current remains constant so long as the specimen is fault-free.

Particle beam testing method with countervoltage or retarding voltage

Method for particle beam testing of substrates for liquid crystal displays (LCD). This invention is directed to methods wherein, given a substrate (SUB1) for a liquid crystal display, either potentials or, respectively, currents are set in defined fashion with a particle beam (S1, S2 and S4) and/or potentials are measured by detecting secondary electrons (S5) at different switch statuses of the switch elements (T) of the substrate (SUB1). The geometrical integrity and the electrical functionability of the substrate (SUB1) are thereby tested, even though, for example, a supplementary plane electrode is not present for forming a capacitor. An important advantage of the method is that faulty substrates can be repaired or can be segregated even before further-processing and, thus, costs can be reduced.

For testing an interconnect network for shorts and interruptions, a point of the network to be tested is charged with a particle beam. Subsequently, a potential at least one further contact point is read with the same particle beam and an unaltered primary energy. An identification of potential occurs by documenting the secondary electrons triggered at the contact points. In order to avoid a disturbing change of potential during the measuring phase, the measuring time is only a fraction of the time for charging the network.

Particle beam measuring method for non-contact testing of interconnect

A circuit includes an inversely fedback operational amplifier having a saw tooth deflection signal applied at its input, as well as a coil pair and an output for deflecting the particle beam of a scanning microscope within a scanned field as established by the coil current. A plurality of resistor elements are selected by a switch and a constant current source for feeding a direct current is provided to effect the image displacement at a connection P between the coil pair and respective one of the resistor elements. Since the direct current flows only through the coils but not through the resistor elements as a consequence of the feedback amplifier, image displacement is independent of magnification established by the respective resistor element.

Circuit for image displacement in a particle beam apparatus

To measure high frequency signal curves at nodes and interconnections of integrated circuits and achieve a good chronological resolution in accordance with the sampling method, extremely short primary electron pulses are used. For such extremely short pulse widths obtainable with beam blanking systems, only individual statistically appearing secondary electrons are registered per pulse, these electrons generating current pulses having different amplitudes and different time behaviors at the output of an energy analyzer. It is proposed that the number of current pulses occurring at the output of the energy analyzer within a prescribed time interval be identified and the quotient, or ratio, thereof, be kept constant with the assistance of a feedback circuit for connection to the voltage of a retarding field electrode. The feedback circuit includes a pulse counter, a digital-to-analog converter, and a spectrometer drive.

Method and apparatus for measuring time dependent signals with a

An arrangement for electrically testing microinterconnections with electric test contacts may be used given drastically-reduced dimensions of electric conductors and of the grid dimensions in printed circuitboards. The electric test contacts are selectable by way of internal switches. The test contacts can be disposed in a matrix whose grid dimension corresponds to the grid dimension of a printed circuitboard to be tested.

Arrangement for testing micro interconnections and a method for

A method and apparatus suppress a disturbance in the measurement of signals with a particle probe by providing and measuring a known reference voltage on a specimen at at least one time and using the measurement for eliminating the drift phenomena appearing in a measured signal and enables a significant increase in the precision of the measurement of signals. A secondary electron signal which results from a measurement of a reference voltage controls the operating point of a feedback circuit for suppressing the disturbance.

Method and apparatus for suppressing disturbances in the measurement of

In an exemplary embodiment, a command value signal is supplied to a magnetic deflection control loop which operates based on measurement of deflection coil current. A signal proportional to the rate of change of deflection magnetic field is supplied to one input of a differential amplifier, and a signal in accordance with the rate of change of the command value signal is connected with a second input of the differential amplifier. Any error between the rate of change signals as sensed by the differential amplifier is used as an auxiliary control of the deflection magnetic field, whereby eddy current influences are overcome. The system is particularly useful for precision control of an electron beam writer in the manufacture of semiconductor integrated circuits.

Method and device for the regulation of a magnetic deflection system

In an apparatus comprising a high-voltage measuring capacitor and, in particular, comprising a high-voltage measuring capacitor formed by a high-voltage conductor of a fully insulated, metal-encapsulated high-voltage switch-gear installation and by a surface electrode associated with the former, an auxiliary capacitor is associated with and located adjacent to said high-voltage capacitor. The auxiliary capacitor is part of an evaluation device which generates a signal corresponding to capacitance changes of the auxiliary capacitor resulting from external influences. Following the evaluation device is an indicating device for signaling the occurrence of such capacitance changes and/or a control or regulating device for compensating for capacitance changes of the high-voltage measuring capacitor caused by the same external influences.

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Munich, Germany

Reinhold Schmitt