Patterned wafer inspection method and apparatus therefor
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Abstract
An electron beam (area beam) having a fixed area is irradiated onto the surface of a semiconductor sample, and reflected electrons from the sample surface are imaged by the imaging lens, and images of a plurality of regions of the surface of the semiconductor sample are obtained and stored in the image storage unit, and the stored images of the plurality of regions are compared with each other, and the existence of a defect in the regions and the defect position are measured. By doing this, in an apparatus for testing a pattern defect of the same design, foreign substances, and residuals on a wafer in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor apparatus by an electron beam, speeding-up of the test can be realized.
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Citations
50 Claims
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1-41. -41. (Canceled)
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42. A sample inspection apparatus comprising:
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a sample stage to hold a wafer to be inspected, an electron optical system to irradiate an electron beam to the sample, a power source connected to the sample stage, an image detector that detects the reflected electron and creates a image signal based on the detected electron, and an image processor that inspects the sample by comparing obtained images, wherein said power source applies a potential to the sample stage so that the irradiated electron is reflected before the irradiated electron beam reaches a surface of the sample. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46)
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43. A sample inspection apparatus comprising:
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means for holding a sample to be inspected, means for irradiating an electron beam to the sample, means for reflecting the electron beam irradiated to the sample before the electron beam reaches a surface of the sample, means for detecting the reflected electrons, means for creating an image attributed to the reflected electrons, and means for inspecting the sample by comparing obtained images.
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47. A sample defect inspection apparatus comprising:
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an electron optic system to irradiate an area electron beam to a sample to be inspected, a power source to apply a predetermined voltage to a sample to be inspected, and an electron detector to detect the reflected electron from a sample to be inspected, an image processor, wherein the irradiated electron beam is substantially reflected just before reaching a surface of a sample to be inspected, and said image processing unit forms an image of a sample to be inspected and analyzes the image to detect a defect in a sample to be inspected.
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48. A sample inspection apparatus comprising:
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a sample stage to hold a wafer to be inspected, an electron optical system to irradiate an electron beam to the sample, a power source that gives a potential to the sample, an image detector that detects an electrons reflected from the sample before the irradiated electron beam reaches a surface of the sample, an image processor that inspects the sample by comparing image signals obtained in the image detector.
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49. A sample inspection apparatus comprising:
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a sample stage to hold a wafer to be inspected, an electron optical system to irradiate an electron beam to the sample, a power source that gives a potential to the sample, an image detector that creates an image signal based on detection of an electron which is reflected from the sample before the irradiated electron beam reaches a surface of the sample, and an image processor that inspects the sample by comparing obtained images.
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50. A sample inspection apparatus comprising:
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means for holding a sample to be inspected, means for decelerating an irradiated electron beam before the sample, means for detecting the reflected electrons turned before impinging on the sample, means for creating an image attributed to the reflected electrons, and means for inspecting the sample by comparing obtained images.
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Specification