Hitachi, Ltd.

Takao Kawanabe

Mikio Hongo

Susumu Komoriya

Nobuyuki Iriki

Shinya Nakagawa

Takayoshi Oosakaya

Tateoki Miyauchi

Masao Mitani

Masaaki Okunaka

Yasuhiro Koizumi

Katsuro Mizukoshi

Katsurou Mizukoshi

Isao Tanabe

Morio Inoue

According to the present invention, in making alignment between a semiconductor integrated circuit wafer and a mask or a reticle in light exposure of the wafer with a monochromatic light such as g-, i- or h-line of a mercury lamp, using a reduced stepping exposure system, light from a predetermined pattern on the wafer is taken out to an off-axis position and observed according to Through-the-Lens method; in this case as a characteristic feature of the invention, the observation light taken out from below the reticle is passed through chromatic aberration correcting lenses, thereby permitting the use of a polychromatic or continuous spectrum light.

Method of making semiconductor integrated circuit, pattern detecting

According to the present invention, in making alignment between a semiconductor integrated circuit wafer and a mask or a reticle in light exposure of the wafer with a monochromatic light such as g-, i- or h-line of a mercury lamp, using a reduced stepping exposure system, light from a predetermined pattern on the wafer is taken out to an off-axis position and observed according to a through-the-lens method; in this case as a characteristic feature of the invention, the, observation light is taken out from below the reticle and is passed through chromatic aberration correcting lenses, thereby permitting the use of a polychromatic or continuous spectrum light.

According to the present invention, in making alignment between a semiconductor integrated circuit wafer and a mask or a reticle in light exposure of the wafer with a monochromatic light such as g-, i- or h- line of a mercury lamp, using a reduced stepping exposure system, light from a predetermined pattern on the wafer is taken out to an off-axis position and observed according to a through-the-lens method; in this case as a characteristic feature of the invention, the observation light is taken out from below the reticle and is passed through chromatic aberration correcting lenses, thereby permitting the use of a polychromatic or continuous spectrum light.

Herein disclosed are a method of producing a semiconductor device. Especially in a device constructed to have a defective circuit replaced by a redundant circuit, after a fuse is cut by exposure to a laser beam, a portion to be fused is irradiated in a predetermined gas atmosphere with an optical ray to selectively form a CVD film thereby to form a protection film over the fuse so that the formation of the protection film is simplified after the fuse is cut, whereby any rise in the production cost is suppressed while improving the production yield and reliability.

Method for producing semiconductor devices and cutting fuses

A photo-mask is mounted on a repairing chamber, with its mask pattern forming surface being exposed to the interior of the chamber. Vaporized repairing material which includes a metallic element is introduced into the chamber, and a laser beam is projected from the exterior of the chamber onto a transparent defect of the mask pattern. The irradiated portion is heated and the vaporized repairing material at the heated portion is resolved, resulting in the metal resolved from the repairing material deposits and fills the transparent defect. Thus, transparent defects of a mask pattern can be repaired in a simplified process.

Method and apparatus for repairing defects on a photo-mask pattern

A method and apparatus for repairing defect portions of a photomask. A complex material from which a light shading material can be deposited is applied over the photomask. A white (blank) defect region is irradiated with a continuous wave laser light beam projected in a slit-like light image to thereby convert the complex material into the shading material. After washing, a half-deposited portion formed in a peripheral portion of the light shading region is further deposited by a post-baking process. Those portions of the light shading film which depart from the desired mask pattern are removed together with black (solid) defect portion originally present in the photomask through irradiation with a pulse laser light beam. The pulse laser is constituted by a Dye-laser, while the continuous wave laser is constituted by an Ar-laser. A specific half-mirror which transmits therethrough Ar-laser light while reflecting Dye-laser light is displaceable provided. The white and the black defects are selectively centered on a same optical axis of an optical projection system including a slit and a condenser lens, whereby the white and the black defect portions are each removed through irradiation with the associated laser light projected thereto in a slit-like light image through the same optical projection system.

Growing community of inventors

Tokorozawa, Japan

Takao Kawanabe