Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Toshiba Memory Corporation

Ryoji Yoshikawa

Seiji Morita

Hideaki Sakurai

Hiromu Inoue

Hiroyuki Ikeda

Tatsuhiko Higashiki

Hidehiro Watanabe

Osamu Ikenaga

Tomohiro Tsutsui

Shunsuke Ochiai

Tomohide Watanabe

Hiroyuki Tanizaki

A defect inspection device includes an image sensor configured to obtain an image of a target region of an object and divide the image of the target region into an array of pixels, and a processor. The processor is configured to receive a signal indicating a value of a property of the divided image, select a first pixel in the divided image, determine the value of the property of the first pixel, determine a reference pixel value for the first pixel, compare the reference pixel value to the value of the first pixel to obtain a difference value, and set a threshold difference at which a defect is assessed to be present, based at least in part on the value of the property of second pixels in the divided image adjacent to the first pixel.

Defect inspection device and defect inspection method

A pattern inspection apparatus according to an embodiment includes an image capture and an output part. The image capture captures an image of a second pattern of an inspection target object obtained by enlarging the inspection target object having a first pattern. The output part outputs position information of the first or second pattern corresponding to divergent portions between a reference data generated from design data of the first pattern and a captured data generated by the image capture, other than prediction positions of first defects occurring when the inspection target object is enlarged.

Pattern inspection apparatus and pattern inspection method

According to one embodiment, a pattern forming method includes: forming a guide layer, including a base layer and a neutralization film with a plurality of parallel line sections, on a processing target film, forming a polymer material containing first polymer segments and second polymer segments, on the guide layer, forming a self-assembly pattern having a plurality of first polymer portions containing the first polymer segment and extending in a direction of the line sections, and a plurality of second polymer portions containing the second polymer segment alternating with the first polymer portions and extending along the direction of the line sections, and selectively removing the second polymer portions. The widths of line sections of both ends of the plurality of line sections of the neutralization film are about two times the width of each first polymer portion or each second polymer portion.

Pattern forming method and mask pattern data

A plurality of photomasks used to manufacture the same semiconductor device, each of the photomasks having a plurality of mutually replaceable unit regions set therein, are inspected to detect a defect. It is determined whether or not the detected defect has a redundancy defect positioned in a unit region replaceable with another unit region to remedy the photomask. Then, when inspecting the second or subsequent photomask, a unit region including the coordinate of a redundancy defect detected in another photomask inspected previously is set to be a non-inspection region, and the non-inspection region is not inspected.

Photomask inspection method, semiconductor device inspection method, and pattern inspection apparatus

A pattern inspection device according to the embodiment, includes: an image picking-up portion for picking-up an image of a pattern formation member in which a plurality of opening patterns are formed so as to obtain a picked-up image of the pattern formation member; a reference image obtaining portion for obtaining a reference image used for comparing with the picked-up image; and a pattern defect detecting portion for matching the center locations of the opening pattern images respectively between the picked-up image and the reference image, forming difference images of the opening pattern images between the picked-up image and the reference image per the opening pattern and detecting the defect of the opening pattern base on the difference images.

Pattern inspection device and method of inspecting pattern

According to a mask defect inspection data generating method, a distance between inspection areas neighboring in a predetermined direction is calculated based on inspection area control information defined in photomask inspection data. It is determined whether or not the calculated distance between inspection areas is less than a predetermined distance. When it is determined that the distance between inspection areas is less than a predetermined distance, the inspection area is combined to produce an optimization inspection area. The produced optimization inspection area information is defined in inspection layout data for making a reference in die-to-database defect inspection.

Mask defect inspection data generating method, mask defect inspection method and mask production method

A method of generating reference data is disclosed, in which two-value or multi-value gradated data of pixels is obtained in units of pixels from a design data of a pattern to be formed on an object, a processed data is obtained by carrying out calculations to the gradated data, and a reference data for use in a comparison with a sensed data obtained by image-picking up a pattern formed on the object is obtained based on the processed data, the method comprising carrying out a first calculation including a predetermined parameter to a value of an gradated data of a targeted pixel among the pixels to obtain a first processed data, and carrying out a second calculation including a predetermined parameter to the values of the gradated data of the targeted pixel and pixels located at the periphery of the targeted pixel to obtain a second processed data.

Reference data generating method, pattern defect checking apparatus, pattern defect checking method, reference data generating program, and semiconductor device manufacturing method

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Ryoji Yoshikawa