System and method for defect classification based on electrical design intent

• US 10,209,628 B2
• Filed: 10/04/2016
• Issued: 02/19/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: KLA-Tencor Corporation (KLA Corporation)
• Original Assignee: KLA-Tencor Corporation (KLA Corporation)
• Inventors: Uppaluri, Prasanti, Jayaraman, Thirupurasundari, Liang, Ardis, Kandukuri, Srikanth, Kekare, Sagar
• Primary Examiner(s): Garbowski, Leigh M
• Application Number:
  US15/285,111
• Publication Number:
  US 20170344695A1
• Time in Patent Office: 868 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/7065 Defects, e.g. optical inspection of patterned layer for defects
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70658 Electrical testing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2119/18 Manufacturability analysis or optimisation for manufacturability
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/398 Design verification or optimisation, e.g. using design rule check [DRC], layout versus schematics [LVS] or finite element methods [FEM] optical proximity correction [OPC] design processes G03F1/36

Abstract

A method for automatically classifying one or more defects based on electrical design properties includes receiving one or more images of a selected region of a sample, receiving one or more sets of design data associated with the selected region of the sample, locating one or more defects in the one or more images of the selected region of the sample by comparing the one or more images of the selected region of the sample to the one or more sets of design data, retrieving one or more patterns of interest from the one or more sets of design data corresponding to the one or more defects, and classifying the one or more defects in the one or more images of the selected region of the sample based on one or more annotated electrical design properties included in the one or more patterns of interest.

Claims

1. A system for automatically classifying one or more defects based on electrical design properties, comprising:

an imaging tool configured to acquire one or more images of a selected region of a sample, wherein the imaging tool including a detector, an illumination source, and one or more optical elements;

a user interface, wherein the user interface includes a display and a user input device; and

a controller including one or more processors configured to execute a set of program instructions stored in memory, wherein the program instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to;

receive the one or more images of the selected region of the sample from the imaging tool;

receive a design file associated with the selected region of the sample, wherein the design file includes one or more sets of design data, wherein a set of design data includes one or more layers, wherein a layer includes one or more sets of shapes;

locate one or more defects in the one or more images of the selected region of the sample;

retrieve one or more patterns of interest from the design file, wherein the one or more patterns of interest include one or more shapes surrounding the location of the one or more defects, wherein the one or more patterns of interest include one or more annotated electrical design properties; and

automatically classify the one or more defects in the one or more images of the selected region of the sample based on the one or more annotated electrical design properties by comparing the one or more defects to the one or more patterns of interest.

2. The system for automatically classifying one or more defects based on electrical design properties in claim 1, wherein the imaging tool includes one or more of:

an optical inspection tool or an SEM review tool.

3. The system for automatically classifying one or more defects based on electrical design properties in claim 1, wherein a shape is a polygon.

4. The system for automatically classifying one or more defects based on electrical design properties in claim 1, wherein the program instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to:

display the automatically-classified one or more defects.

5. The system for automatically classifying one or more defects based on electrical design properties in claim 1, wherein the one or more patterns of interest have at least one dimension that ranges from 0.250-10 microns.

6. The system for automatically classifying one or more defects based on electrical design properties in claim 1, wherein the one or more annotated electrical properties includes at least one of a defect-type characteristic, a design sub-characteristic, or a level of criticality to the design.

7. The system for automatically classifying one or more defects based on electrical design properties in claim 1, wherein the program instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to:

generate the one or more sets of design data;

receive a selection of the one or more patterns of interest in the one or more sets of design data from the user input device;

annotate the one or more patterns of interest in the one or more sets of design data with one or more electrical design properties; and

generate the design file from the one or more patterns of interest including the one or more annotated electrical design properties.

8. The system for automatically classifying one or more defects based on electrical design properties in claim 7, wherein the program instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to:

implement a pattern search function, wherein the pattern search function annotates one or more repeats of the one or more patterns of interest with the one or more electrical design properties.

9. The system for automatically classifying one or more defects based on electrical design properties in claim 8, wherein the program instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to:

store the annotated one or more repeats of the one or more patterns of interest.

10. The system for automatically classifying one or more defects based on electrical design properties in claim 7, wherein the program instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to:

display the one or more sets of design data on the display of the user interface.

11. The system for automatically classifying one or more defects based on electrical design properties in claim 7, wherein the program instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to:

display the one or more electrical design properties.

12. The system for automatically classifying one or more defects based on electrical design properties in claim 11, wherein the program instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to:

receive a selection of the displayed one or more electrical design properties.

13. The system for automatically classifying one or more defects based on electrical design properties in claim 7, wherein the program instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to:

store the annotated one or more patterns of interest.

14. The system for automatically classifying one or more defects based on electrical design properties in claim 1, further comprising:

a semiconductor fabrication process tool configured to perform one or more semiconductor fabrication processes of a semiconductor device production process,

wherein the program instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to;

providing one or more control signals to adjust at least one of the imaging tool or the semiconductor fabrication process tool to improve performance of one or more semiconductor device production processes.

15. A system for annotating one or more sets of design data with electrical design properties for defect classification, comprising:

a user interface, wherein the user interface includes a display and a user input device; and

a controller including one or more processors configured to execute a set of program instructions stored in memory, wherein the program instructions are configured to cause the one or more processors to;

generate one or more sets of design data, wherein a set of design data includes one or more layers, wherein a layer includes one or more sets of shapes;

receive a selection of one or more patterns of interest in the one or more sets of design data from the user input device;

annotate the one or more patterns of interest in the one or more sets of design data with one or more electrical design properties; and

generate a design file from the one or more patterns of interest including the one or more annotated electrical design properties,

wherein the one or more patterns of interest including the one or more annotated electrical properties are utilizable to automatically classify one or more defects in one or more images of a selected region of a sample,

wherein the one or more images are acquirable by an imaging tool including a detector, an illumination source, and one or more optical elements.

16. The system for annotating one or more sets of design data in claim 15, wherein the program instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to:

implement a pattern search function, wherein the pattern search function annotates one or more repeats of the one or more patterns of interest with the one or more electrical design properties.

17. The system for annotating one or more sets of design data in claim 16, wherein the program instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to:

store the annotated one or more repeats of the one or more patterns of interest.

18. The system for annotating one or more sets of design data in claim 15, wherein the program instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to:

display the one or more sets of design data on the display of the user interface.

19. The system for annotating one or more sets of design data in claim 15, wherein the program instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to:

display the one or more electrical design properties.

20. The system for annotating one or more sets of design data in claim 19, wherein the program instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to:

receive a selection of the displayed one or more electrical design properties.

21. The system for annotating one or more sets of design data in claim 19, wherein the displayed one or more electrical design properties are stored in memory.

22. The system for annotating one or more sets of design data in claim 19, wherein the displayed one or more electrical design properties are received from a user.

23. The system for annotating one or more sets of design data in claim 15, wherein the one or more electrical design properties includes at least one of a defect-type characteristic, a design sub-characteristic, or a level of criticality to the design.

24. The system for annotating one or more sets of design data in claim 15, wherein the program instructions are further configured to cause the one or more processors to:

store the annotated one or more patterns of interest.

25. A method for automatically classifying one or more defects based on electrical design properties, comprising:

receiving one or more images of a selected region of a sample from an imaging tool, wherein the imaging tool is configured to acquire the one or more images of the selected region of the sample, wherein the imaging tool includes a detector, an illumination source, and one or more optical elements;

receiving a design file associated with the selected region of the sample, wherein the design file includes one or more sets of design data, wherein a set of design data includes one or more layers, wherein a layer includes one or more sets of shapes;

locating one or more defects in the one or more images of the selected region of the sample;

retrieving one or more patterns of interest from the design file, wherein the one or more patterns of interest include one or more shapes surrounding the location of the one or more defects, wherein the one or more patterns of interest include one or more annotated electrical design properties; and

automatically classifying the one or more defects in the one or more images of the selected region of the sample based on the one or more annotated electrical design properties by comparing the one or more defects to the one or more patterns of interest.

26. The method for automatically classifying one or more defects based on electrical design properties in claim 25, further comprising:

displaying the automatically-classified one or more defects.

27. The method for automatically classifying one or more defects in claim 25, further comprising:

generating one or more sets of design data;

receiving a selection of the one or more patterns of interest in the one or more sets of design data from the user input device;

annotating the one or more patterns of interest in the one or more sets of design data with one or more electrical design properties; and

generating the design file from the one or more patterns of interest including the one or more annotated electrical design properties.

28. The method for automatically classifying one or more defects in claim 27, further comprising:

implementing a pattern search function, wherein the pattern search function annotates one or more repeats of the one or more patterns of interest with the one or more electrical design properties.

29. The method for automatically classifying one or more defects in claim 28, further comprising:

storing the annotated one or more repeats of the one or more patterns of interest.

30. The method for automatically classifying one or more defects in claim 27, further comprising:

displaying the one or more sets of design data on the display of the user interface.

31. The method for automatically classifying one or more defects in claim 27, further comprising:

displaying the one or more electrical design properties.

32. The method for automatically classifying one or more defects in claim 31, further comprising:

receiving a selection of the displayed one or more electrical design properties.

33. The method for automatically classifying one or more defects in claim 27, further comprising:

storing the annotated one or more patterns of interest.

34. A method for annotating one or more sets of design data with electrical design properties for defect classification, comprising:

generating one or more sets of design data, wherein a set of design data includes one or more layers, wherein a layer includes one or more sets of shapes;

receiving a selection of one or more patterns of interest in the one or more sets of design data from the user input device; and

annotating the one or more patterns of interest in the one or more sets of design data with one or more electrical design properties; and

generating a design file from the one or more patterns of interest including the one or more annotated electrical design properties,

wherein the one or more patterns of interest including the one or more annotated electrical properties are utilizable to automatically classify one or more defects in one or more images of a selected region of a sample,

wherein the one or more images are acquirable by an imaging tool including a detector, an illumination source, and one or more optical elements.

35. The method for annotating one or more sets of design data with electrical design properties in claim 34, comprising:

implementing a pattern search function, wherein the pattern search function annotates one or more repeats of the one or more patterns of interest with the one or more electrical design properties.

36. The method for annotating one or more sets of design data in claim 35, further comprising:

storing the annotated one or more repeats of the one or more patterns of interest.

37. The method for annotating one or more sets of design data in claim 34, further comprising:

displaying the one or more sets of design data on the display of the user interface.

38. The method for annotating one or more sets of design data in claim 34, further comprising:

displaying the one or more electrical design properties associated with the selected pattern of interest.

39. The method for annotating one or more sets of design data in claim 38, further comprising:

receiving a selection of the displayed one or more electrical design properties.

40. The method for annotating one or more sets of design data in claim 34, further comprising:

storing the annotated one or more patterns of interest.