Nuflare Technology, Inc.

Toshiaki Otaki

Riki Ogawa

Yasuhiro Yamashita

A pattern inspection apparatus includes a transmitted illumination optical system to illuminate change the shape of a first inspection light, a reflected illumination optical system to illuminate a mask substrate with a second inspection light by using an objective lens and a polarizing element, and let a reflected light from the mask substrate pass therethrough, a drive mechanism to enable the polarizing element to be moved from/to outside/inside an optical path, a sensor to receive a transmitted light from the mask substrate illuminated with the first inspection light during stage moving, and an aperture stop, between the mask substrate and the sensor, to adjust a light flux diameter of the transmitted light so that the transmitted light reaching the sensor can be switched between high and low numerical aperture (NA) states with which the transmitted light from the mask substrate can enter the objective lens.

Pattern inspection apparatus and pattern inspection method

A pattern inspection apparatus includes a first half-wave plate to receive an ultraviolet light linearly polarized in a first electric field oscillation direction, and output a linearly polarized light polarized in a second electric field oscillation direction obtained by rotating by an integer multiple of 90&#xb0;, a mirror to reflect the linearly polarized light polarized in the second electric field oscillation direction, and output a linearly polarized light polarized in a third electric field oscillation direction parallel or orthogonal to the second electric field oscillation direction, a second half-wave plate to convert the linearly polarized light polarized in the third electric field oscillation direction, which has been reflected, to a linearly polarized light polarized in a fourth electric field oscillation direction by rotating by an angle different from an integer multiple of 90&#xb0;.

Pattern inspection apparatus for detecting a pattern defect

A focusing apparatus includes a first reticle, arranged at the front side of a conjugate position of a TDI sensor; a second reticle, arranged at the back side of the conjugate position; an equalizing circuit to perform gray scale value equalization by using a gray scale value output by the TDI sensor which received the pattern image by illumination light not passing through the first and second reticles; and a distance change/move amount calculation circuit to calculate, in a state where the gray scale value equalization has been performed, a distance change/move amount of a relative distance, for focusing the pattern image of the substrate, between the substrate and the conjugate position of the TDI sensor by using a first derivative value of a gray scale value output by the TDI sensor which received the pattern image by the reflection illumination light having passed through the first and second reticles.

Focusing apparatus, focusing method, and pattern inspection method

An illumination apparatus according to embodiments includes: a light source generating laser light; a rotational phase plate having a plurality of randomly arranged stepped regions, the rotational phase plate transmitting the laser light to give a phase change to the laser light; and an integrator including a plurality of lenses arranged in an array, the laser light transmitted through the rotational phase plate being incident on the integrator, an allowable angle of incidence for the laser light of the lenses being set at a maximum value of or larger than an angle of diffraction of a first order of the laser light at the rotational phase plate.

Illumination apparatus and pattern inspection apparatus

An inspection apparatus comprising, a Rochon prism configured to branch the light transmitted through a half-wave plate, a first sensor and a second sensor for acquiring an optical image of a pattern of the sample, the branched light being incident to the first sensor and the second sensor, a light quantity acquisition unit configured to acquire a light quantity ratio (1:A) of the second sensor to the first sensor using the optical image, and to obtain an angle &#x3b8; of the half-wave plate such that the light quantity ratio becomes A:1, an angle controller configured to receive information on the angle &#x3b8; from the light quantity acquisition unit to control an angle of the half-wave plate, a light source controller configured to control a light quantity of the light source such that each of the light quantity values becomes a target value.

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Yokohama, Japan

Toshiaki Otaki