Surface inspection method and apparatus

• US 5,737,074 A
• Filed: 12/04/1996
• Issued: 04/07/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 12/05/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NanoSystem Solutions, Inc. (V Technology Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: New Creation Company Limited
• Inventors: Haga, Kazumi, Sakai, Motoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Hoa Q.
• Application Number:
  US08/760,603
• Time in Patent Office: 489 Days
• Field of Search: 356/371, 356/237, 356/239, 356/394, 356/445, 356/446, 356/375, 356/376
• US Class Current: 356/237.2
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/8806 Specially adapted optical and illumination features

Abstract

The method comprises the steps of: irradiating an objective region to be measured with an illuminating light in an oblique direction thereto; forming an image of reflected light from the objective region by member of an object-side telecentric optical system or an image-object-side telecentric optical system, which has an optical axis coinciding with an incident direction of the illuminating light to the objective region and has a object-side angular aperture against a point on the objective region, which is set at a predetermined angle; picking up the formed image to collect luminance data of respective points in the objective region; and processing the luminance data to recognize bright and dark portions and thereby determining the presence or absence of an irregular portion and a shape of the irregular portion, in the objective region. The method enables measurement of the presence or absence of irregularity and the shape of the irregularity in a wide surface region with a high accuracy and in a single operation by using an apparatus having relatively simple construction.

Claims

1. A surface inspection method for inspecting a surface condition of an objective region to be measured by irradiating the objective region with an illuminating light of an approximately parallel beam, comprising the steps of:

setting an object-side angular aperture such that whole reflecting light beams from a surface perpendicular to an incident direction of an illuminating light just enters into a light limiting member;

irradiating an objective region to be measured with an illuminating light in an oblique direction thereto;

forming an image of reflected light from the objective region by one system selected from the group consisting of an object-side telecentric optical system and an image object-side telecentric optical system, which has an optical axis coinciding with an incident direction of the illuminating light to the objective region, the formed image of reflected light having points with luminance corresponding to the incident angle of the illuminating light at respective points on the objective region;

picking up the formed image to collect luminance data of the respective points in the objective region; and

processing the luminance data to recognize bright and dark portions and thereby determining the presence or absence of an irregular portion and a shape of the irregular portion, in the objective region.

2. A surface inspection method as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the step of processing the luminance data, a first luminance data of respective points in the objective region when the objective region to be measured is inclined at a predetermined angle in one direction with respect to an axis in a reference plane which is perpendicular to the incident direction of the illuminating light and a second luminance data of respective points in the objective region when the object to be measured is inclined at the same angle as the above in the other direction with respect to the axis are summed together, and about 1/2 of the maximum value of the summed value is used as a value for medium gradation and at least one of the first and second luminance data is used as a processing objective luminance data.

3. A surface inspection method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the illuminating light at respective points on the objective region has a predetermined certain irradiating angular aperture, and the object-side angular aperture is set to be substantially equal to the predetermined certain irradiating angular aperture.

4. A surface inspection method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the illuminating light at respective points on the objective region has a predetermined certain irradiating angular aperture, and the object-side angular aperture is set to be substantially equal to the predetermined certain irradiating angular aperture;

and in the step of processing the luminance data, both a luminance data when the object to be measured is inclined with respect to one axis in a reference plane which is perpendicular to the incident direction of the illuminating light and a luminance data when the object to be measured is inclined with respect to another axis in the reference plane, which is perpendicular to the one axis, are used as processing objective luminance data, and these two processing objective luminance data are composite to determine the presence or absence of an irregular portion and a shape of the irregular portion, on the objective region to be measured.

5. A surface inspection method as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the step of processing the luminance data, both a luminance data when the objective region to be measured is inclined with respect to one axis in a reference plane which is perpendicular to the incident direction of the illuminating light and a luminance data when the objective region to be measured is inclined with respect to another axis in the reference plane, which is perpendicular to the one axis, are used as processing objective luminance data, and these two processing objective luminance data are composite to determine the presence or absence of an irregular portion and a shape of the irregular portion, on the objective region to be measured.

6. A surface inspection method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the illuminating light at respective points on the objective region has a predetermined certain irradiating angular aperture, and the object-side angular aperture is set to be substantially equal to the predetermined certain irradiating angular aperture.

7. A surface inspection method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the illuminating light at respective points on the objective region has a predetermined certain irradiating angular aperture.

8. A surface inspection method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the illuminating light at respective points on the objective region has a predetermined certain irradiating angular aperture, and the object-side angular aperture is set to be substantially equal to the predetermined certain irradiating angular aperture.

9. A surface inspection method for inspecting a surface condition of an objective region to be measured by irradiating the objective region with an illuminating light of an approximately parallel beam, comprising the steps of:

setting an object-side angular aperture such that whole reflecting light beams from a surface perpendicular to an incident direction of an illuminating light just enters into a light limiting member;

inclining an object to be measured and irradiating an objective region to be measured with an illuminating light in an oblique direction thereto;

forming an image of reflected light from the objective region by one system selected from the group consisting of an object-side telecentric optical system and an image object-side telecentric optical system, which has an optical axis coinciding with an incident direction of the illuminating light to the objective region, the formed image of reflected light having points with luminance corresponding to the incident angle of the illuminating light at respective points on the objective region;

picking up the formed image to collect luminance data of respective points in the objective region; and

processing the luminance data to determine an inclination distribution of the objective region on the basis of linear differential results of the luminance data and to determine the presence or absence of an irregular portion and a shape of the irregular portion, in the objective region, on the basis of the difference between a regression curve obtained from an integral data of the luminance data and the integral data.

10. A surface inspection method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the illuminating light at respective points on the objective region has a predetermined certain irradiating angular aperture.

11. A surface inspection method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the illuminating light at respective points on the objective region has a predetermined certain irradiating angular aperture, and the object-side angular aperture is set to be substantially equal to the predetermined certain irradiating angular aperture.

12. A surface inspection apparatus for inspecting a surface condition of an objective region to be measured by irradiating the objective region, comprising:

a light limiting member for enabling a setting of an object-side angular aperture such that whole reflecting light beams from a surface perpendicular to an incident direction of an illuminating light just enters into the light limiting member;

a light irradiating member for irradiating the objective region with an illuminating light of a parallel beam thereto;

an angle setting member for inclining an object to be measured to irradiate the objective region to be measured with the illuminating light in an oblique direction thereto;

one system selected from the group consisting of an object-side telecentric optical system and an image-object-side telecentric optical system, for forming an image of reflected light from the objective region, which has an optical axis coinciding with an incident direction of the illuminating light to the objective region, the formed image of reflected light having points with luminance corresponding to the incident angle of the illuminating light at respective points on the objective region;

a pick-up part for picking up the formed image to collect luminance data of respective points in the objective region; and

a processing part for processing the luminance data to recognize bright and dark portions and thereby determining the presence or absence of an irregular portion and a shape of the irregular portion, in the objective region.

13. A surface inspection apparatus as claimed in claim 12, further comprising an angular aperture changing member for changing the object-side angular aperture.

14. A surface inspection apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the light irradiating member comprises a light source and an aperture stop, and the apparatus further comprises an aperture diameter changing member for changing an aperture diameter of the aperture stop correspondingly to a change of the object-side angular aperture.

15. A surface inspection apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein in the processing part, a first luminance data of respective points in the objective region when the object to be measured is inclined at a predetermined angle in one direction with respect to an axis in a reference plane which is perpendicular to the incident direction of the illuminating light and a second luminance data of respective points in the objective region when the object to be measured is inclined at the same angle as the above in the other direction with respect to the axis are summed together, and about 1/2 of the maximum value of the summed value is used as a value for medium gradation and at least one of the first and second luminance data is used as a processing objective luminance data.

16. A surface inspection apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein in the processing part, both a luminance data when the object to be measured is inclined with respect to one axis in a reference plane which is perpendicular to the incident direction of the illuminating light and a luminance data when the object to be measured is inclined with respect to another axis in the reference plane, which is perpendicular to the one axis, are used as processing objective luminance data, and these two processing objective luminance data are composited to determine the presence or absence of an irregular portion and a shape of the irregular portion, on the object to be measured.

17. A surface inspection apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the illuminating light at respective points on the objective region has a predetermined certain irradiating angular aperture.

18. A surface inspection apparatus for inspecting a shape of an irregular potion in an objective region to be measured by irradiating the objective region, comprising:

a light limiting member for enabling a setting of an object-side angular aperture such that whole reflecting light beams from a surface perpendicular to an incident direction of an illuminating light just enters into the light limiting member;

a light irradiating member for irradiating the objective region with an illuminating light of a parallel beam;

an angle setting member for inclining an object to be measured to irradiate an objective region to be measured with the illuminating light in an oblique direction thereto;

one system selected from the group consisting of an object-side telecentric optical system and an image-object-side telecentric optical system, for forming an image of reflected light from the objective region with respective luminances corresponding to incident angles at respective points in the objective region, which has an optical axis coinciding with an incident direction of the illuminating light to the objective region, the formed image of reflected light having points with luminance corresponding to the incident angle of the illuminating light at respective points on the objective region;

a pick-up part for picking up the formed image to collect luminance data of respective points in the objective region; and

a processing part for processing the luminance data to determine an inclination distribution of the objective region on the basis of linear differential results of the luminance data and to determine the presence or absence of an irregular portion and a shape of the irregular portion, in the objective region, on the basis of the difference between a regression curve obtained from an integral data of the luminance data and the integral data.

19. A surface inspection apparatus as claimed in claim 18, further comprising an angular aperture changing member for changing the object-side angular aperture.

20. A surface inspection apparatus as claimed in claim 18, wherein the illuminating light at respective points on the objective region has a predetermined certain irradiating angular aperture.