Surface inspection apparatus

• US 6,104,481 A
• Filed: 11/02/1998
• Issued: 08/15/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 11/11/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Topcon
• Inventors: Yoshino, Hisakazu, Soma, Hiroaki, Isozaki, Hisashi, Sekine, Akihiko, Iwa, Yoichiro, Miki, Naoto
• Primary Examiner(s): Font, Frank G.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Smith, Zandra V.
• Application Number:
  US09/184,075
• Time in Patent Office: 652 Days
• Field of Search: 356/237.4, 356/237.5, 356/239.7, 356/239.8, 356/237.3
• US Class Current: 356/237.5
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/9501 Semiconductor wafers manufacturing processes per se of semiconductor devices implementing a measuring step H01L22/10

Abstract

A wafer surface inspection apparatus comprises a light source, an optical system for focusing the light beams from the light source onto the wafer surface, a scanning means for scanning the focused point over a predetermined range on the wafer surface, a photo detector including an photoelectric converter for sensing scattered light from the focused point, and a signal detector for detecting signals from the photo detector, in which the light source is a light source for emitting two different wavelengths, the optical system is adapted to focus the light beams of the two wavelengths on one and the same point on the wafer surface, and the photo detector is adapted to sense the two wavelengths separately, and further comprises a discriminating portion for discriminating between a foreign matter or a scratch on the wafer surface and a recess in a spot form existing on the wafer surface by utilizing outputs from the signal detector.

Claims

1. A surface inspection apparatus comprising:

a light source portion for emitting a light wave of a first wavelength and a light wave of a second wavelength;

a first irradiating optical system for directing a light beam of a first wavelength onto the surface of an inspected body in a first angle of irradiation;

a second irradiating optical system for directing a light beam of a second wavelength onto the surface of the inspected body in a second angle of irradiation different from the first angle of irradiation and at the same time said light beam of the first wavelength is directed by the first irradiating optical system;

a first photosensing optical system for sensing in a first photosensing direction scattered light from the surface of the inspected body irradiated by said first irradiating optical system;

a second photosensing optical system for sensing in a second photosensing direction scattered light from the surface of the inspected body irradiated by said second irradiating optical system;

a first photosensing portion for converting the scattered light of the first wavelength sensed by said first photosensing optical system into a first sensed-light signal;

a second photosensing portion for converting the scattered light of the second wavelength sensed by said first photosensing optical system into a second sensed-light signal;

a third photosensing portion for converting the scattered light of the first wavelength sensed by said second photosensing optical system into a third sensed-light signal;

a fourth photosensing portion for converting the scattered light of the second wavelength sensed by said second photosensing optical system into a fourth sensed-light signal;

a displacement portion for displacing said inspected body and the light beams emitted from said irradiating optical systems relative to each other; and

a signal processing portion for discriminating inspected objects on the basis of said first to fourth sensed-light optical signals.

2. A surface inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the first angle of said first irradiating optical system is smaller than the second angle of said second irradiating optical system, and

a first photosensing angle formed, on the surface of the inspected body, between the first photosensing direction in which said first photosensing optical system senses light and the direction of the regular reflection of light beams directed by said first irradiating optical system or said second irradiating optical system is larger than a second photosensing angle formed between said second photosensing optical system and the direction of the regular reflection.

3. A surface inspection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said signal processing portion forms a first processed signal on the basis of said first sensed-light signal or third sensed-light signal and a second processed signal on the basis of said second sensed-light signal or fourth sensed-light signal and identifies, as the inspected object, a first inspected object by data included in both of said first processed signal and second processed signal and a second inspected object by data included in only either of said first processed signal and second processed signal.

4. A surface inspection apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising sensitivity setting means capable of changing over sensitivity of each of said first photosensing portion to fourth photosensing portion between a high sensitivity and a low sensitivity, wherein

said sensitivity setting means, when said inspected body produces small surface scattering, sets said first photosensing portion and said second photosensing portion at the high sensitivity and sets said third photosensing portion and said fourth photosensing portion at the low sensitivity.

5. A surface inspection apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising sensitivity setting means capable of changing over sensitivity of each of said first photosensing portion to fourth photosensing portion between a high sensitivity and a low sensitivity, wherein

said sensitivity setting means, when said inspected body produces great surface scattering, sets said first photosensing portion and said second photosensing portion at the low sensitivity and sets said third photosensing portion and said fourth photosensing portion at the high sensitivity.

6. A surface inspection apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said inspected body is a bare semiconductor wafer and said signal processing portion identifies a foreign matter on the surface of the semiconductor wafer as said first inspected object and identifies a small recess on the surface of the semiconductor wafer as said second inspected object.

7. A surface inspection apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

a display portion for displaying either or both of a foreign matter on the surface of the semiconductor wafer identified, by said signal processing portion, as said first inspected object and a small recess on the surface of the semiconductor wafer identified as said second inspected object.

8. A surface inspection apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a storage portion for storing results of identification made by said signal processing portion, wherein

said storage portion is adapted such that, when an inspected object inspected in the past is inspected again, said signal processing portion associates results of identification stored in said storage portion with results of identification obtained in a current inspection.

9. A wafer surface inspecting method comprising the steps of:

focusing light beams emitted from a light source on the surface of a wafer;

sensing scattered light from the focused point with a photoelectric converter while the focused point is scanned; and

inspecting foreign matters and flaws on the wafer surface through detection of signals from said photoelectric converter, wherein irradiating light beams of two wavelengths are focused on one and the same point in different angles of incidence and at the same time scattered light beams from the focused point are photoelectrically converted separately for each of the two wavelengths, and discriminating a foreign matter or flaw on the wafer surface and a recess in a spot form existing on the wafer surface from each other by utilizing differences in intensity of the signals.

10. A wafer surface inspecting method according to claim 9, wherein, in sensing scattered light beams of two different wavelengths, a photosensing position is set to be in the same relationship with planes of incidence of the irradiating light beams of the different wavelengths.

11. A wafer surface inspection apparatus comprising:

a light source;

an optical system for focusing light beams from said light source on a wafer surface;

a photosensing portion including a photoelectric converter for sensing scattered light beams from a focused point;

a signal detector for detecting signals from said photosensing portion, wherein

said light source is a light source of two different wavelengths and said optical system is adapted to focus light beams of two wavelengths on said focussed point on the wafer surface in different angles of incidence and at the same time; and

a discriminating circuit for discriminating between a foreign matter or flaw on the wafer surface and a recess in a spot form existing on the wafer surface by utilizing outputs from said signal detector.

12. A wafer surface inspection apparatus according to claim 11, wherein

said photosensing portion for sensing scattered light beams of two different wavelengths is arranged to be in the same relationship with planes of incidence of the irradiating light beams of the different wavelengths.