Ebara Corporation

Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Other

Nikon Corporation

Shin Oowada

Mamoru Nakasuji

Tohru Satake

Shoji Yoshikawa

Toshifumi Kimba

Tsutomu Karimata

Nobuharu Noji

Hirosi Sobukawa

Mutsumi Saito

Masahiro Hatakeyama

Kenji Watanabe

Takeshi Murakami

Muneki Hamashima

Toru Takagi

Yuichiro Yamazaki

Ichirota Nagahama

Takamitsu Nagai

Takao Kato

Hiroshi Nishimura

Naoto Kihara

Yukiharu Okubo

Yoshiaki Kohama

Hiroshi Sobukawa

Nabuharu Noji

Mitsumi Saito

An inspection apparatus by an electron beam comprises: an electron-optical devicehaving an electron-optical system for irradiating the object with a primary electron beam from an electron beam source, and a detector for detecting the secondary electron image projected by the electron-optical systems; a stage systemfor holding and moving the object relative to the electron-optical system; a mini-environment chamberfor supplying a clean gas to the object to prevent dust from contacting the object; a working chamberfor accommodating the stage device, the working chamber being controllable so as to have a vacuum atmosphere; at least two loading chambersdisposed between the mini-environment chamber and the working chamber, adapted to be independently controllable so as to have a vacuum atmosphere; and a loaderfor transferring the object to the stage system through the loading chambers.

Inspection system by charged particle beam and method of manufacturing devices using the system

A substrate inspection apparatus-(FIG.) of the present invention performs the following steps of: carrying a substrate 'S' to be inspected into an inspection chamber-; maintaining a vacuum in said inspection chamber; isolating said inspection chamber from a vibration; moving successively said substrate by means of a stage-with at least one degree of freedom; irradiating an electron beam having a specified width; helping said electron beam reach to a surface of said substrate via a primary electron optical system-; trapping secondary electrons emitted from said substrate via a secondary electron optical system-and guiding it to a detecting system-; forming a secondary electron image in an image processing system based on a detection signal of a secondary electron beam obtained by said detecting system; detecting a defective location in said substrate based on the secondary electron image formed by said image processing system; indicating and/or storing said defective location in said substrate by CPU-; and taking said completely inspected substrate out of the inspection chamber. Thereby, the defect inspection on the substrate can be performed successively with high level of accuracy and efficiency as well as with higher throughput.

Apparatus for inspection with electron beam, method for operating same, and method for manufacturing semiconductor device using former

An inspection apparatus by an electron beam comprises: an electron-optical devicehaving an electron-optical system for irradiating the object with a primary electron beam from an electron beam source, and a detector for detecting the secondary electron image projected by the electron-optical system; a stage systemfor holding and moving the object relative to the electron-optical system; a mini-environment chamberfor supplying a clean gas to the object to prevent dust from contacting to the object; a working chamberfor accommodating the stage device, the working chamber being controllable so as to have a vacuum atmosphere; at least two loading chambersdisposed between the mini-environment chamber and the working chamber, adapted to be independently controllable so as to have a vacuum atmosphere; and a loaderfor transferring the object to the stage system through the loading chambers.

The present invention provides an electron beam apparatus for irradiating a sample with primary electron beams to detect secondary electron beams generated from a surface of the sample by the irradiation for evaluating the sample surface. In the electron beam apparatus, an electron gun has a cathode for emitting primary electron beams. The cathode includes a plurality of emitters for emitting primary electron beams, arranged apart from one another on a circle centered at an optical axis of a primary electro-optical system. The plurality of emitters are arranged such that when the plurality of emitters are projected onto a straight line parallel with a direction in which the primary electron beams are scanned, resulting points on the straight line are spaced at equal intervals.

Electron beam apparatus and method of manufacturing semiconductor device using the apparatus

An electron beam apparatus such as a sheet beam based testing apparatus has an electron-optical system for irradiating an object under testing with a primary electron beam from an electron beam source, and projecting an image of a secondary electron beam emitted by the irradiation of the primary electron beam, and a detector for detecting the secondary electron beam image projected by the electron-optical system; specifically, the electron beam apparatus comprises beam generating meansfor irradiating an electron beam having a particular width, a primary electron-optical systemfor leading the beam to reach the surface of a substrateunder testing, a secondary electron-optical systemfor trapping secondary electrons generated from the substrateand introducing them into an image processing system, a stagefor transportably holding the substratewith a continuous degree of freedom equal to at least one, a testing chamber for the substrate, a substrate transport mechanism for transporting the substrateinto and out of the testing chamber, an image processing analyzerfor detecting defects on the substrate, a vibration isolating mechanism for the testing chamber, a vacuum system for holding the testing chamber at a vacuum, and a control systemfor displaying or storing positions of defects on the substrate

Sheet beam-type testing apparatus

The present invention provides an electron beam apparatus for evaluating a sample surface, which has a primary electro-optical system for irradiating a sample with a primary electron beam, a detecting system, and a secondary electro-optical system for directing secondary electron beams emitted from the sample surface by the irradiation of the primary electron beam to the detecting system.

An inspection apparatus and a semiconductor device manufacturing method using the same. The inspection apparatus is used for defect inspection, line width measurement, surface potential measurement or the like of a sample such as a wafer. In the inspection apparatus, a plurality of charged particles is delivered from a primary optical system to the sample, and secondary charged particles emitted from the sample are separated from the primary optical system and introduced through a secondary optical system to a detector. Irradiation of the charged particles is conducted while moving the sample. Irradiation spots of the charged particles are arranged by N rows along a moving direction of the sample and by M columns along a direction perpendicular thereto. Every row of the irradiation spots of the charged particles is shifted successively by a predetermined amount in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the sample.

The purpose of the invention is to provide an improved electron beam apparatus with improvements in throughput, accuracy, etc. One of the characterizing features of the electron beam apparatus of the present invention is that it has a plurality of optical systems, each of which comprises a primary electron optical system for scanning and irradiating a sample with a plurality of primary electron beams; a detector device for detecting a plurality of secondary beams emitted by irradiating the sample with the primary electron beams; and a secondary electron optical system for guiding the secondary electron beams from the sample to the detector device; all configured so that the plurality of optical systems scan different regions of the sample with their primary electron beams, and detect the respective secondary electron beams emitted from each of the respective regions. This is what makes higher throughput possible. To provide high accuracy, the apparatus is configured such that the axes of its optical systems can be aligned, and aberrations corrected, by a variety of methods.

Electron beam apparatus and device production method using the electron beam apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Shin Oowada