The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 09, 2011
Filed:
Apr. 21, 2009
Carl E. Hess, Los Altos, CA (US);
Yalin Xiong, Union City, CA (US);
Carl E. Hess, Los Altos, CA (US);
Yalin Xiong, Union City, CA (US);
KLA-Tencor Corporation, San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
Disclosed are methods and apparatus for inspecting a sub-resolution assist features (SRAF) on a reticle. A test flux measurement for a boundary area that encompasses a width and a length portion of a test SRAF is determined, and at least one reference flux measurement for one or more boundary areas of one or more reference SRAF's is determined. The test flux measurement is compared with the reference flux measurements. The comparison is used to then determine whether the test SRAF is undersized or oversized. If the test SRAF is determined to be oversized, it may then be determined whether the test SRAF is defective based on the comparison using a first threshold.