Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi-high-technologies Corporation

Tadashi Suzuki

Hiroshi Goto

Shigeru Matsui

Takayuki Ono

Yasuo Wada

Nobuyoshi Natsuaki

Masao Tamura

Kiyonori Ohyu

Masami Iizuka

Masahiro Watanabe

Shoji Shukuri

Masahiro Moniwa

Yoshikazu Tanabe

Eiichi Murakami

Masanobu Miyao

Atsushi Shimoda

Terunori Warabisako

Hidekazu Okuhira

Akira Shintani

Yuuichi Madokoro

Yasuhiko Nakatsuka

Yoshisada Ebata

Kunitsugu Tsukui

Syunji Maeda

Kouhei Kabuki

Atsushi Hiyama

Jun Takeyama

Hideo Koizumi

Shoji Syukuri

A lighting optical machine and defect inspection system having high reliability and safety when a laser beam is used as a light source. The lighting optical machine comprises: a housing, which accommodates a laser source, a beam deflection mechanism having first and second plane mirrors enabling a beam emitted from the laser source to be reflected so that the beam travels in the direction almost parallel to the beam emitted from the laser source, a beam expander for converting the beam to a parallel beam having a larger cross-sectional area, an objective lens, through which the parallel beam is reduced and applied to the surface of a sample; a first control mechanism for controlling the directions of the two plane mirrors of the beam deflection mechanism with an electric signal; and a second control mechanism for controlling the focus position of the beam expander with an electric signal.

Lighting optical machine and defect inspection system

A lighting optical machine and defect inspection system having high reliability and safety when a laser beam is used as a light source. The lighting optical machine comprises: a housing, which accommodates a laser source, a beam polarization mechanism having first and second plane mirrors enabling a beam emitted from the laser source to be reflected so that the beam travels in the direction almost parallel to the beam emitted from the laser source, a beam expander for converting the beam to a parallel beam having a larger cross-sectional area, an objective lens, through which the parallel beam is reduced and applied to the surface of a sample; a first control mechanism for controlling the directions of the two plane mirrors of the beam polarization mechanism with an electric signal; and a second control mechanism for controlling the focus position of the beam expander with an electric signal.

The present invention provides an image detection system capable of picking up a high resolution image of the surface condition of a circuit pattern-formed wafer without being affected by steep pattern steps, discontinuous reflectance distributions and optically transparent substances which are formed after resist patterns are formed and removed. A defect detection apparatus using such an image detection apparatus is also provided by the invention. The present invention is implemented by a configuration comprising a scanning stage having a sample mounted thereon, an image pickup system for picking up a surface image of the sample, height detection means for detecting the surface height of the sample at plural points including two points which are respectively on the opposite sides of the image pickup position in the scanning direction, sample height calculation means for calculating the height of the sample at the image pickup position by using the detected heights and focusing means for focusing the image pickup system by using the calculated sample height.

Image detection method and its apparatus and defect detection method and its apparatus

In order to improve spectral measurement accuracy during high-speed wavelength shifting, the appropriate sensitivity of the detection system is maintained by, prior to measurement of a sample, measuring the voltage value, then storing this value into a table, and maintaining the voltage value to be applied to the photodetector, and during measurement of the sample, reading out the maintained voltage value and applying it to the photodetector.

Spectrophotometer

Annealing technology is capable of heating a wafer on which a copper film is formed at a desired temperature within a short period of time. A light-shielding plate of SiC (silicon carbide) exhibiting a flat emissivity irrespective of the wavelengths and emitting light over a wide band of wavelengths is interposed between the wafer on which is formed a copper film having a high light reflection factor and lamps The lamps are turned on in this state so that the light-shielding plate is heated, first, and, then, the wafer is heated by light radiated from the light-shielding plate that is heated, thereby to anneal the copper film.

Fabrication method for semiconductor integrated device

Of an amorphous Si film, a region to be formed into a lowly doped region such as the channel region of an MOS transistor is covered with a mask and an uncovered region is doped with an impurity. After this, the amorphous Si film is annealed and turned to signal crystal through solid phase epitaxial growth, and the mask itself is used as the electrode of a semiconductor device. By this impurity doping, a large-sized single-crystal Si film can be formed, and the impurity doping can be conducted in self-alignment with the electrode formation to produce a highly integrated semiconductor circuit.

SOI process for forming a thin film transistor using solid phase epitaxy

First conductivity type impurity ions are implanted at a predetermined depth all over a region where impurity ions are to be implanted, and second conductivity type impurity ions are implanted in a dose about twice as large as that of the first conductivity type impurity ions at substantially the same implantation depth of the first conductivity type impurity ions, followed by annealing. In this way, mutually contiguous first and second conductivity type regions having substantially the same impurity concentrations and located at substantially the same depths are formed.

Method of forming twin doped regions of the same depth by high energy

A shaft assembly comprises a shaft having at least one small diameter portion located on the way in the axial direction thereof, and at least one member mounted to the outer periphery of the small diameter portion of the shaft rotatably and/or movably in the axial direction. The shaft assembly is produced by first forming the member on a large diameter portion of the shaft and then moving the member from the large diameter portion to the small diameter portion. The member moved to the small diameter portion is mounted to the small diameter portion rotatably and/or movably in the axial direction by the shrinkage thereof.

Shaft assembly and manufacturing process thereof

Growing community of inventors

Kasama, Japan

Tadashi Suzuki