Method of determining lethality of defects in circuit pattern inspection method of selecting defects to be reviewed and inspection system of circuit patterns involved with the methods

• US 6,334,097 B1
• Filed: 01/06/1999
• Issued: 12/25/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Shimoda, Atsushi, Yoshitake, Yasuhiro, Shiba, Masataka
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoff, Marc S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Raymond, Edward
• Application Number:
  US09/225,513
• Time in Patent Office: 1,084 Days
• Field of Search: 702/183, 702/185, 702/184, 702/83, 702/33, 702/34, 702/35, 702/36, 702/40, 702/81-84, 702/108, 702/117, 702/118, 702/119, 702/120, 702/121, 702/170, 702/172, 702/182, 324/500, 324/537, 324/750, 324/753, 324/71, 324/751, 325/512, 340/500, 340/635, 716/5, 706/47, 706/48
• US Class Current: 702/185
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/95607 using a comparative method
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 22/20 Sequence of activities consisting of a plurality of measurements, corrections, marking or sorting steps
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00

Abstract

From the coordinate data of defects detected on the circuit patterns, the areas where the defects belong are identified. The sizes of the defects detected are compared with the data to determine the lethality to thereby determine the lethality of the defects. Further, the severity of the defects is calculated from the sizes of the defects to thereby select the review object in the descending order of the severity.

Thereby, when inspecting the circuit patterns on a semiconductor wafer or the like, the lethality of the defects can automatically be determined even though the review is not carried out, enhancing the efficiency of the inspection. To perform the review with efficiency, the defects to be reviewed are automatically selected, while the quality of the inspection itself is maintained.

Claims

1. A method of inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, comprising the steps of:

inputting inspection data of the defects existing on the circuit patterns inspected by an inspection apparatus;

processing the inputted inspection data to determine the lethality of the defects; and

displaying information relating to the lethality of defects on a display,

wherein the lethality of the defects is determined based on a determination rule which is defined according to areas on the patterns.

2. A method of inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises a plurality of areas having different characteristics, the determination rule is defined according to each of the areas on the patterns, and the inspection data are coordinate data of the circuit patterns and sizes of the defects.

3. A method of inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 1, wherein each of the circuit patterns is segmented into several areas having different characteristics, and the data to determine the lethality of the defects are served as determination rules each provided for each of the areas of the circuit patterns.

4. A method of inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, comprising the steps of:

(1) inputting area coordinate data of the circuit patterns;

(2) inputting data regarding lethality of defects existing on the circuit patterns;

(3) inputting coordinate data of defects detected on the circuit patterns and sizes of the defects;

(4) identifying areas to which the defects belong, from the coordinate data of the defects;

(5) comparing sizes of the defects with the data regarding the lethality of the defects by using the coordinate data of the defects to determine the lethality of the detected defects; and

(6) displaying information of lethality of the detected defects determined in the step of comparing.

5. A method of inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 4, wherein the sizes of the defects include length data, area data, and brightness data which are served as indexes when detecting the defects.

6. A method of inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 4, wherein pattern widths or pattern spaces in the areas are used as the data to determine the lethality of the defects produced in the areas on the circuit patterns.

7. A method of inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, comprising the steps of:

inputting inspection data of the defects existing on the circuit patterns inspected by an inspection apparatus;

processing the inputted inspection data to select candidate defects to be reviewed;

determining the defects to be reviewed among the selected candidate defects; and

outputting information relating to the determined defects to be reviewed,

wherein the selected candidate defects are lethality defects.

8. A method of inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 7, wherein the inspection data are coordinate data of the circuit patterns and sizes of the defects.

9. A method of inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 7, wherein each of the circuit patterns is segmented into several areas having different characteristics, and the data to determine the lethality of the defects are served as determination rules each provided for each of the areas of the circuit patterns.

10. A method of inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate comprising the steps of:

(1) accepting area coordinate data of the circuit patterns;

(2) accepting data to determine the lethality of the defects;

(3) accepting coordinate data of the defects detected on the circuit patterns and sizes of the defects;

(4) identifying areas to which the defects belong, from the coordinate data of the defects detected on the circuit patterns;

(5) determining lethality of the detected defects by using information of the coordinate data and size data of the defects; and

(6) selecting the defects to be reviewed among the defects whose lethality are determined.

11. A method of inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 10, wherein the defects selected as the review object are the defects corresponding to a specific number of the ratios obtained at the step (5), sorted in the descending order.

12. A method of inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 10, wherein the defects selected as the review object are the defects corresponding to the ratios obtained at the step (5) and have respectively a specific value or more.

13. A method of inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 10, wherein the sizes of the defects include length data, area data, and brightness data which are served as indexes when detecting the defects.

14. A method of inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 10, wherein pattern widths or pattern spaces in the areas are used as the data to determine the lethality of the defects produced in the areas on the circuit patterns.

15. A method of inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 10, wherein, in selecting the defects treated as the review object for each process, the method further comprises a step that compares coordinate data of the defects having been detected as the defects in a previous process to a process where the review is being executed at present with coordinate data of the defects having been detected as the defects in the concerned process where the review is being executed at present, and treats only the defects having non-coincident coordinate data in the result of the comparison as candidate defects of the review object in the concerned process where the review is being executed.

16. A method of inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 10, wherein the method further comprises a step that classifies the defects produced on the circuit patterns into cluster defects having a clustered mode and random defects produced at random from the mode in which the defects are produced, and selects the review object with different treatments for the cluster defects and the random defects.

17. A method of inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 16, wherein several defects of the cluster defects are selected as the review object, and the review result of the several defects is assumed as the review result of all the defects belonging to the cluster to thereby simplify the review for the cluster defects.

18. A method of inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 16, wherein, in selecting the defects treated as the review object for each process, when the cluster defects detected in the previous process and the cluster defects detected in the subsequent process have an overlapping part, both of the cluster defects are treated as the cluster defects detected in the previous process.

19. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, comprising:

a first memory to store inspection data of the defects existing on the circuit patterns detected by the inspection apparatus;

a second memory to store a data for determining lethality of the defects;

a processor to process the inspection data stored in the first memory; and

means to determine the lethality of the defects corresponding to the inspection data by using the data stored in the second memory and the inspection data processed by the processor.

20. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 19, wherein the inspection data are coordinate data of the circuit patterns and sizes of the defects.

21. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 19, wherein each of the circuit patterns is segmented into several areas having different characteristics, and the data to determine the lethality of the defects are served as determination rules each provided for each of the areas of the circuit patterns.

22. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, comprising:

a first means to store area coordinate data of the circuit patterns;

a second means to store data to determine lethality of defects existing on the circuit patterns;

a third means to store coordinate data of defects detected on the circuit patterns and sizes of the defects;

a fourth means to identify the areas to which the defects belong, from the coordinate data of the defects stored in the third means; and

a fifth means to compare sizes of the defects detected with the data to determine the lethality of the defects produced in the areas on the circuit patterns where the defects belong to thereby determine the lethality of the defects.

23. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 22, wherein the sizes of the defects include length data, area data, and brightness data which are served as indexes when detecting the defects.

24. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 22, wherein pattern widths or pattern spaces in the areas are used as the data to determine the lethality of the defects produced in the areas on the circuit patterns.

25. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 22, wherein the inspection instrument and the analysis system are connected by a network, and the data and commands can be exchanged.

26. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, comprising:

a first memory to store data of the defects existing on the circuit patterns, which are detected by an inspection apparatus;

a second memory to store data to determine a lethality of defects;

a first processor to determine the lethality of the defects stored in the first memory by using the data stored in the second memory; and

a second processor to select defects to be reviewed among defects whose lethality is determined by the first processor.

27. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 26, wherein the inspection data are coordinate data of the circuit patterns and sizes of the defects.

28. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 26, wherein each of the circuit patterns is segmented into several areas having different characteristics, and the data to determine the lethality of the defects are served as determination rules each provided for each of the areas of the circuit patterns.

29. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit pasterns formed on a substrate, comprising:

a first memory to store area coordinate data of the circuit patterns;

a second memory to store data to determine the lethality of the defects existing on the circuit patterns;

a third memory to store coordinate data of defects detected on the circuit patterns and sizes of the defects;

means to identify the areas to which the defects belong, from the coordinate data of the defects stored in the third memory;

means to calculate the ratios of the sizes of the defects detected against the data to determine the lethality of the defects produced in the areas on the circuit patterns to which the defects belong; and

means to select defects to be reviewed among the defects calculated by the means to calculate.

30. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 29, wherein the defects selected as the review object are the defects corresponding to a specific number of the ratios obtained by the means to calculate the ratios, sorted in the descending order.

31. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 29, wherein the defects selected as the review object are the defects corresponding to the ratios obtained by the means to calculate the ratios and have respectively a specific value or more.

32. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 29, wherein the sizes of the defects include length data, area data, and brightness data which are served as indexes when detecting the defects.

33. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 29, wherein pattern widths or pattern spaces in the areas are used as the data to determine the lethality of the defects produced in the areas on the circuit patterns.

34. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 29, wherein the system further comprises a review station to perform the review, the review station, the inspection instrument, and the analysis system are connected by a network, and thereby the data and commands can mutually be exchanged.

35. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 29, wherein, in selecting the defects treated as the review object for each process, the system further comprises means that compare coordinate data of the defects having been detected as the defects in a previous process to a process where the review is being executed at present with coordinate data of the defects having been defected as the defects in the concerned process where the review is being executed at present, and treats only the defects having non-coincident coordinate data in the result of the comparison as candidate defects of the review object in the concerned process where the review is being executed.

36. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 29, wherein the system further comprises means that classify the defects produced on the circuit patterns into cluster defects having a clustered mode and random defects produced at random from the mode in which the defects are produced, and selects the review object with different treatments for the cluster defects and the random defects.

37. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 36, wherein several defects of the cluster defects are selected as the review object, and the review result of the several defects is assumed as the review result of all the defects belonging to the cluster to thereby simplify the review for the cluster defects.

38. An apparatus for inspecting defects of circuit patterns formed on a substrate, according to claim 36, wherein, in selecting the defects treated as the review object for each process, when the cluster defects detected in the previous process and the cluster defects detected in the subsequent process have an overlapping part, both of the cluster defects are treated as the cluster defects detected in the previous process.