Charged Particle Beam System, Sample Processing Method, and Semiconductor Inspection System

• US 20080029699A1
• Filed: 08/06/2007
• Published: 02/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/08/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi High-Tech Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: KANEOKA, Noriyuki, Umemura, Kaoru, Ishiguro, Koji
• Granted Patent: US 7,777,183 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 250/307
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 23/225 using electron or ion
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/0455 with variable aperture
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/2482 Optical means
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 2237/31745 for preparing specimen to be viewed in microscopes or analyzed in microanalysers
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/228 whereby illumination and light collection take place in the same area of the discharge
• CPC Class Codes: H01J 37/3056 for microworking, e.g. etching of gratings, trimming of electrical components trimming of resistors H01C17/22

Abstract

A charged particle beam system, a sample processing method, and a semiconductor inspection system enable an accurate detection of a particle in a film without causing LMIS contamination and allow observation with an electron microscope quickly. A particle 65 causing a defect in a film 66 that has been detected with a separate optical inspection system is detected with an optical microscope 43 based on position information acquired by the separate optical inspection system. A sample 31 is processed with a nonmetal ion beam 22 so as to allow observation of the particle 65 with an electron microscope image or an ion microscope image, or ultimate analysis of the particle 65 with an EDX.

Claims

1. A charged particle beam system comprising:

a sample stage movable with a sample mounted thereon;

a sample chamber enclosing the sample stage;

an electron beam column connected to the sample chamber and having an electron source and an electron beam optical system for focusing an electron beam drawn from the electron source and scanning and irradiating the sample with the electron beam;

an ion beam column connected to the sample chamber and having a nonmetal gas ion source and an ion beam optical system for irradiating the sample with an ion beam drawn from the gas ion source;

a sample signal detector for detecting a sample signal for generating a microscope image that is obtained by irradiating the sample with the electron beam from the electron beam column or the ion beam from the ion beam column;

an image generator for generating an electron microscope image or an ion microscope image by acquiring a detection signal from the sample signal detector;

an optical microscope disposed in the sample chamber such that an ion beam target position of the ion beam column is within the view field of the optical microscope; and

an image generator for generating an optical microscope image of the sample by acquiring condition data from the optical microscope.

2. The charged particle beam system according to claim 1, further comprising a bright field light source for irradiating the sample with illuminating light for photographing a bright field image with the optical microscope.

3. The charged particle beam system according to claim 1, further comprising a dark field light source for irradiating the sample with illuminating light for photographing a dark field image with the optical microscope.

4. The charged particle beam system according to claim 2, wherein the dark field light source is mounted movably such that the angle of irradiation of illuminating light can be changed, thus the dark field light source also functioning as a bright field light source for irradiating the sample with illuminating light for photographing a bright field image with the optical microscope.

5. The charged particle beam system according to claim 1, wherein the ion beam column comprises a mask having a plurality of differently shaped mask sharps, wherein the shape of the ion beam can be changed by moving the mask so as to switch the mask sharp through which the ion beam is passed, or withdrawing the mask from the ion beam so as to prevent the mask from interfering the ion beam.

6. The charged particle beam system according to claim 1, further comprising a probe movable within the view field of the optical microscope at or around an ion beam target position of the ion beam column, and a deposition gas source for supplying deposition gas to the ion beam irradiated position.

7. The charged particle beam system according to claim 1, wherein the electron beam column and the ion beam column are disposed such that the beam target position of the electron beam and that of the ion beam are spaced apart from each other.

8. The charged particle beam system according to claim 7, further comprising a transfer mechanism for moving the optical microscope between a position at which the beam target position of the electron beam column can be captured and a position at which the beam target position of the ion beam column can be captured, within the view field of the optical microscope.

9. The charged particle beam system according to claim 1, wherein the sample signal detector comprises a secondary electron detector that detects secondary electrons generated by the sample upon irradiation with the electron beam from the electron beam column.

10. The charged particle beam system according to claim 1, wherein the sample signal detector comprises a transmission electron detector for detecting transmission electrons upon transmission of the electron beam from the electron beam column through the sample.

11. The charged particle beam system according to claim 1, further comprising an X-ray detector for detecting characteristic X-ray emitted by the sample upon irradiation with the electron beam from the electron beam column.

12. A sample processing method using the charged particle beam system according to claim 1, wherein, after the detection of a particle attached to the sample with the optical microscope, if the particle cannot be observed with an electron microscope image or an ion microscope image, the position of the particle is confirmed with an optical microscope image and the film that covers the particle is partially removed with the ion beam from the ion beam column, and then a microscope image is acquired on the basis of a sample signal that is obtained upon irradiation of the exposed particle with the electron beam or the ion beam.

13. The sample processing method according to claim 12, wherein the exposed particle is irradiated with the electron beam from the electron beam column, and then characteristic X-ray emitted by the particle is detected with an X-ray detector and used for ultimate analysis of the particle.

14. A sample processing method using the charged particle beam system according to claim 5, wherein, after the detection of a particle attached to the sample with the optical microscope, if the particle cannot be observed with an electron microscope image or an ion microscope image, the position of the particle is confirmed with an optical microscope image, and then a piece of sample containing the sample is cut out of the sample using an ion beam whose shape has been changed by operating the mask.

15. A sample processing method using the charged particle beam system according to claim 6, wherein, after the detection of a particle attached to the sample with the optical microscope, if the particle cannot be observed with an electron microscope image or an ion microscope image, the position of the particle is confirmed with an optical microscope image, a piece of sample containing the particle is cut out of the sample using an ion beam whose shape has been changed by operating the mask, and then the piece of sample that has been cut out is attached to the probe for extraction.

16. A sample processing method using the charged particle beam system according to claim 6, wherein, after the detection of a particle attached to the sample with the optical microscope, if the particle cannot be observed with an electron microscope image or an ion microscope image, the probe is transported near the particle while monitoring an optical microscope image so as to indicate the position of the particle with the probe, the position of the particle is inferred in an SIM image with reference to the probe as an indicator, and then the thus determined processing position is processed with the ion beam.

17. A semiconductor inspection system comprising:

a sample stage movable with a semiconductor sample mounted thereon;

a sample chamber enclosing the sample stage;

an electron beam column connected to the sample chamber and having an electron source and an electron beam optical system for focusing an electron beam drawn from the electron source and scanning and irradiating the semiconductor sample with the electron beam;

an ion beam column connected to the sample chamber and having a nonmetal gas ion source and an ion beam optical system for irradiating the semiconductor sample with an ion beam drawn from the gas ion source;

a sample signal detector for detecting a sample signal for generating a microscope image that is obtained by irradiating the semiconductor sample with the electron beam from the electron beam column or the ion beam from the ion beam column;

an image generator for generating an electron microscope image or an ion microscope image by acquiring a detection signal from the sample signal detector;

an optical microscope disposed in the sample chamber such that an ion beam target position of the ion beam column is within the view field of the optical microscope; and

an image generator for generating an optical microscope image of the semiconductor sample by acquiring condition data from the optical microscope.