Measurement method and apparatus for alignment

• US 4,641,257 A
• Filed: 07/02/1984
• Issued: 02/03/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 07/07/1983
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Ayata, Naoki
• Primary Examiner(s): Gruber, Felix D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dixon, Joseph L.
• Application Number:
  US06/626,990
• Time in Patent Office: 946 Days
• Field of Search: 364/559, 364/491, 356/400, 356/401, 356/399, 358/100, 358/101
• US Class Current: 356/401
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 9/7088 Alignment mark detection, e.g. TTR, TTL, off-axis detection, array detector, video detection

Abstract

A measurement apparatus, includes a detector for detecting marks of plural objects to produce a series of signals; a peak detector for detecting peak values of the signals; a device for determining a slice level for each of the peak values detected by the peak detector; and a comparator for sequentially comparing the signals with respective slice levels determined by the slice level determining device and determining an interval between the marks on the basis of the comparison.

Claims

1. A measurement apparatus, comprising:

detecting means for detecting a mark on each of a plurality of objects and for producing a signal having a peak value in response to the detection of each of the marks, so as to form a series of signals;

peak detecting means for detecting the peak values of the signals;

means for determining a slice level for each of the peak values detected by said peak detecting means; and

means for sequentially comparing the signals with their respective slive levels, as determined by said slice level determining means, and for determining an interval between the marks on the basis of the comparison.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detecting means is adapted to detect a plurality of marks on a mask having an integrated circuit pattern and a plurality of marks on a wafer.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for aligning the objects in accordance with the interval determined by said comparing means.