DEFECT INSPECTION DEVICE AND DEFECT INSPECTION METHOD

• US 20130242294A1
• Filed: 11/10/2011
• Published: 09/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi High-Tech Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Taniguchi, Atsushi, Ueno, Taketo, Matsumoto, Shunichi, Honda, Toshifumi
• Granted Patent: US 9,019,492 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 356/237.5
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2021/8477 Investigating crystals, e.g. liquid crystals
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/9501 Semiconductor wafers manufacturing processes per se of semiconductor devices implementing a measuring step H01L22/10
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/956 Inspecting patterns on the surface of objects contactless testing of electronic circuits G01R31/308; testing currency G07D; manufacturing processes per se of semiconductor devices implementing a measuring step H01L22/10
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/95623 using a spatial filtering method per se G02B

Abstract

To prevent overlooking of a defect due to reduction in a defect signal, a defect inspection device is configured such that: light is irradiated onto an object to be inspected on which a pattern is formed; reflected, diffracted, and scattered light generated from the object by the irradiation of the light is collected, such that a first optical image resulting from the light passed through a first spatial filter having a first shading pattern is received by a first detector, whereby a first image is obtained; the reflected, diffracted, and scattered light generated from the object is collected, such that a second optical image resulting from the light passed through a second spatial filter having a second shading pattern is received by a second detector, whereby a second image is obtained; and the first and second images thus obtained are processed integrally to detect a defect candidate(s).

Claims

1. A defect inspection device comprising:

illumination unit that irradiates an object to be inspected, with light, the object having patterns formed on a surface;

light collecting unit that collects light reflected, diffracted, and scattered from the object irradiated with the light by the illumination unit;

optical path branching unit that branches the light collected by the light collecting unit upon receiving the light reflected, diffracted, and scattered from the object into a first detection optical path and a second detection optical path;

a first spatial filter fitted with a first light blocking pattern to block specific reflected, diffracted, and scattered light of the reflected, diffracted, and scattered light traveling towards the first detection optical path created as a result of branching by the optical path branching unit;

first imaging unit that forms an image from the light passed through the first spatial filter;

first image acquisition unit that acquires a first image by detecting the image formed by the first imaging unit;

a second spatial filter fitted with a second light blocking pattern different from the first light blocking pattern, to block specific reflected, diffracted, and scattered light of the reflected, diffracted, and scattered light traveling towards the second detection optical path created as a result of branching by the optical path branching unit;

second imaging unit that forms an image from the light passed through the second spatial filter;

second image acquisition unit that acquires a second image by detecting the image formed by the second imaging unit; and

image processing unit that conducts image processing to extract defect candidates by integratedly processing the first image acquired by the first image acquisition unit and the second image acquired by the second image acquisition unit.

2. The defect inspection device according to claim 1,

wherein the illumination unit irradiates the object with linear shaped light in a direction inclined with respect to a direction normal to the object.

3. The defect inspection device according to claim 1,

wherein the light collecting unit collects, of the light reflected, diffracted, and scattered from the object which the illumination unit has irradiated with light, the light reflected, diffracted, and scattered in a direction normal to the object.

4. The defect inspection device according to claim 1, further comprising, in the first detection optical path and the second detection optical path, a polarizing element formed to control a polarization state.

5. A defect inspection method comprising the steps of:

irradiating an object to be inspected, with light, the object having patterns formed on a surface;

collecting light reflected, diffracted, and scattered from the object irradiated with the light;

branching the collected light of the light reflected, diffracted, and scattered from the object into a first detection optical path and a second detection optical path;

blocking, via a first spatial filter fitted with a first light blocking pattern, specific reflected, diffracted, and scattered light among the reflected, diffracted, and scattered light traveling towards the first detection optical path created as a result of branching;

forming a first optical image from the light passed through the first spatial filter;

acquiring a first image by detecting the formed first optical image with a first detector;

blocking, via a second spatial filter fitted with a second light blocking pattern different from the first light blocking pattern, specific reflected, diffracted, and scattered light among the reflected, diffracted, and scattered light traveling towards the second detection optical path created as a result of branching;

forming a second optical image from the light passed through the second spatial filter;

acquiring a second image by detecting the formed second optical image with a second detector; and

determining defect candidates by integratedly processing the acquired first image and second image.

6. The defect inspection method according to claim 5,

wherein, in the step of irradiation with light, the object to be inspected is irradiated with linear shaped light in a direction inclined with respect to a direction normal to the object.

7. The defect inspection method according to claim 5,

wherein, of the light reflected, diffracted, and scattered from the object which has been irradiated with light, the light reflected, diffracted, and scattered in a direction normal to the object is collected.

8. The defect inspection method according to claim 5,

wherein the reflected, diffracted, and scattered light traveling towards the first detection optical path or the second detection optical path is subjected to control of a polarization state.

9. A defect inspection method comprising:

irradiating an object to be inspected, with light, the object having patterns formed on a surface;

collecting light reflected, diffracted, and scattered from the object irradiated with the light, then detecting with a first detector a first optical image formed by a light passed through a first spatial filter fitted with a first light blocking pattern, and thus acquiring a first image;

collecting light reflected, diffracted, and scattered from the object irradiated with the light, then detecting with a second detector a second optical image formed by a light passed through a second spatial filter fitted with a second light blocking pattern, and thus acquiring a second image; and

determining defect candidates by integratedly processing the acquired first image and second image.

10. The defect inspection method according to claim 9,

wherein the first image is an image obtained upon the first detector detecting the first optical image formed by a light guided to a first optical path by optical path branching unit upon the collection of the reflected, diffracted, and scattered light, and the second image is an image obtained upon the second detector detecting the second optical image formed by a light guided to a second optical path by the optical path branching unit upon the collection of the reflected, diffracted, and scattered light.

11. The defect inspection method according to claim 9,

wherein the first image is an image obtained upon the first detector detecting the first optical image formed by collecting, of the light reflected, diffracted, and scattered from the object, the light heading in a perpendicular direction relative to, and towards a neighborhood of, the object to be inspected, and the second image is an image obtained upon the second detector detecting the second optical image formed by collecting, of the light reflected, diffracted, and scattered from the object to be inspected, the light heading in an oblique direction relative to the object to be inspected.