Hitachi-high-technologies Corporation

Takahiro Togashi

Shigeru Matsui

Minori Noguchi

Akira Hamamatsu

Hiroyuki Nakano

Sachio Uto

Takahiro Jingu

Yoshimasa Ohshima

Taketo Ueno

Hisashi Hatano

Yukihisa Mohara

Seiji Otani

A method and equipment which includes an illustrated-spot illumination-distribution data table for storing an illumination distribution within an illustrated spot and which calculates a coordinate position for a particle or a defect and the diameter of the particle on the basis of detection light intensity data about the particle or defect and the illustrated-spot illumination-distribution data table. Thus, even when the illumination distribution within the illustrated spot based on an actual illumination optical system is not a Gaussian distribution, the calculation of the particle diameter of the detected particle or defect and the calculation of a coordinate position on the surface of an object to be inspected can be attained with an increased accuracy.

Method for detecting particles and defects and inspection equipment thereof

A method and apparatus of detecting a defect by inspecting a specimen in which a surface of a specimen on which plural patterns are formed is illuminated with an elongated shape light flux from one of plural directions which are different in elevation angle by switching an optical path of the light flux emitted from an illuminating light source in accordance with a kind of defect to be detected. Plural optical images of the specimen illuminated by the elongated shape light flux are captured with plural image sensors installed in different elevation angle directions by changing an enlarging magnification in accordance with a density of the pattern formed on the sample in an area irradiated with the illuminating elongated shape light flux. A defect on the specimen is detected by processing the images captured by the plural image sensors.

Method of apparatus for detecting particles on a specimen

An apparatus for inspecting a pattern to detect a small pattern defect has an illuminating light source, as illuminating optical system having a plurality of illuminating portions for switching an optical path of illuminating light flux to a surface of board constituting the inspected object from a plurality of directions different from each other, a detecting optical system having a variable magnification using an object lens for condensing reflected diffracted light from the illuminated board, a focusing optical system having a variable magnification capable of focusing an optical image by converged reflected diffracted light with a desired focusing magnification and an optical detector for detecting the optical image focused by the focusing optical system to convert it into an image signal, an A/D converter for converting the image signal into a digital image signal, and an image signal processor for processing the digital image signal to detect the defect.

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Kamisato, Japan

Takahiro Togashi