Defect inspecting apparatus

• US 7,129,727 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2005
• Issued: 10/31/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/27/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi High-Tech Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Yamada, Osamu, Saito, Tsutomu, Nara, Yasuhiko, Hazaki, Eiichi, Sato, Hirofumi, Inada, Yoshikazu, Numata, Yoshinori
• Primary Examiner(s): HOLLINGTON, JERMELE M
• Application Number:
  US11/258,041
• Publication Number:
  US 20060087330A1
• Time in Patent Office: 370 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 324/754.03
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/2891 related to sensing or controlling of force, position, temperature G01R31/2874 takes precedence; sensing of force G01L; sensing of position G01B, G01D; sensing of temperature G01K; controlling in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/307 of integrated circuits

Abstract

A defect inspecting apparatus in which a plurality of probes to measure electric characteristics of a sample including a fine wiring pattern are combined with a charged-particle beam unit includes graphic user interfaces (GUI) to simply control the plural probes. The apparatus includes a probe image processing unit to display the plural probes on a display; a selecting unit to select, from the probes displayed on the display, a probe to be operated; and a display unit to simultaneously display the probe selecting unit and information indicating that the selected probe is an operable probe, or the probe is in a non-selected state.

Claims

1. A defect inspecting apparatus, comprising:

a charged-particle source;

an emitting unit that emits a charged-particle beam from the charged-particle source onto a sample;

an image shift unit that moves a point on the sample of the charged-particle beam, the beam being emitted onto the point;

an image obtaining unit that detects a beam of secondary charged particles appearing due to the charged-particle beam emitted onto the sample and for obtaining an image of the sample;

a display unit that displays the image obtained in the preceding step;

a storage unit having stored information about the sample;

an image processing unit that executes image processing on the image to display the image;

an electrooptical unit including a communication unit to connect the storage unit to the image processing unit;

a sample stage that mounts the sample thereon;

a sample chamber including the sample stage therein;

a sample change chamber connected to the sample chamber to temporarily keep the sample therein;

a first transporting unit that transports the sample between the sample change chamber and the sample chamber;

a probe holder including a plurality of probes which are brought into contact with the sample to measure electric characteristics of the sample;

a plurality of probe units that moves the probe holder;

a probe holder change chamber that temporarily keeps the probe holder therein;

a second transporting unit connected to the sample chamber for transporting the probe holder between the probe holder change chamber and the sample chamber;

a base stage that transports the sample and the probe units to a position at which the sample and each of the probe units can be changed;

a probe image processing unit that displays the plural probes on the display unit;

a probe selecting unit that selects, from the plural probes displayed on the display unit, a probe to be operated; and

a probe display unit that simultaneously displays thereon that the probe selected by the probe selecting unit is a probe which can be operated and that the probe is a probe in a non-selection state in which the probe is not selected.

2. A defect inspecting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a probe driving unit that moves the probe holder, wherein

the sample stage, the probe holder, and the probe driving unit are mounted on the base stage to thereby move the sample and the probes in an independent manner and at the same time.

3. A defect inspecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

an image obtained by the image processing unit and the plural images of probes are displayed on the display unit by the probe image processing unit at the same time; and

a probe to be moved toward or retracted from the image obtained by the image processing unit is selected from the plural probes by the probe selecting unit.

4. A defect inspecting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a sample information image processing unit that displays information of the sample as an image on the display unit, wherein:

the image of the information of the sample and the plural images of probes are displayed on the display unit by the probe image processing unit at the same time; and

a probe to be moved toward or retracted from the image of the information of the sample is selected from the plural probes by the probe selecting unit.

5. A defect inspecting apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising:

a target setting unit that sets a target to a desired position of the sample information image; and

a probe contact unit that brings the probe selected by the probe selecting unit into contact with the target.

6. A defect inspecting apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:

a distance calculating unit that calculates, in the operation to bring the probe into contact with the target, distance between a tip end of the probe and the target before the probe is brought into contact with the target; and

a distance display unit that displays the distance calculated by the distance calculating unit on the display unit.

7. A defect inspecting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a sample information image processing unit that displays information of the sample as an image on the display unit, wherein

the obtained image obtained by the image obtaining unit and the image of the information of the sample are displayed on the display unit in an overlapped manner.

8. A defect inspecting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a first retracting unit that retracts, for each of coordinate axes of the probe unit, the probe unit to a position of an origin the coordinate axis;

a second retracting unit that retracts the probe unit to a position of an origin of each of coordinate axes of the probe unit; and

a third retracting unit that retracts a plurality of probe units to positions of origins of coordinate axes respectively of the probe units, wherein

a switch to operate the first, second, and third retracting units on the display screen.

9. A defect inspecting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display rotating unit that rotates a display image on the display unit displaying the plural probes and the selected probes selected by the probe selecting unit.

10. A defect inspecting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a selected probe display unit that controls the display unit so as to display the probe selecting unit.

11. A defect inspecting apparatus, comprising:

an emitting module that emits a charged-particle beam from a charged-particle source onto a sample;

an image shift module that moves a point on the sample of the charged-particle beam, the beam being emitted onto the point;

a detecting module that detects a beam of secondary charged particles appearing due to emission of the charged-particle beam onto the sample;

an image creating module that generates an image associated with the sample according to the secondary charged-particle beam detected by the detecting unit;

a plurality of movable probes which can make contact with the sample;

a probe selecting module that selects, from the plural probes, a probe to be brought into contact with the sample; and

a display screen that displays the image which is associated with the sample and which is created by the image creating module, and the image associated with the probe selected by the probe selecting unit and the other of the plurality of movable probes together with information indicating that the probe selected by the probe selecting unit is displayed separately from the other of the plurality of movable probes.

12. The defect inspecting apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a probe driving module that moves a probe selected by the probe selecting module in such a manner that the probe and the sample independently move at the same time.

13. The defect inspecting apparatus according to claim 11, wherein:

an image obtained by the image creating module and

the plural images of probes are displayed on the display screen by the probe image creating module at the same time; and

a probe to be moved toward or retracted from the image obtained by the image creating module is selected from the plural probes by the probe selecting module.

14. The defect inspecting apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a sample information image processing module that displays information of the sample as an image on the display unit, wherein:

the image of the information of the sample and the plural images of probes are displayed on the display screen by the probe image creating module at the same time; and

a probe to be moved toward or retracted from the image of the information of the sample is selected from the plural probes by the probe selecting module.

15. The defect inspecting apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising:

a target setting module that sets a target to a desired position of the sample information image; and

a probe contact module that brings the probe selected by the probe selecting module into contact with the target.

17. The defect inspecting apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising:

a sample information image processing module that displays information of the sample as an image on the display screen, wherein

the obtained image obtained by both the image creating and the image of the information of the sample are displayed on the display unit in an overlapped manner.

19. The defect inspecting apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a display rotating unit that rotates a display image on the display screen displaying the plural probes and the selected probes selected by the probe selecting module.

20. The defect inspecting apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising a selected probe display module that controls the display screen so as to display the probe selecting module.

16. A defect inspecting apparatus, comprising:

an emitting module that emits a charged-particle beam from a charged-particle source onto a sample;

an image shift module that moves a point on the sample of the charged-particle beam, the beam being emitted onto the point;

a detecting module that detects a beam of secondary charged particles appearing due to emission of the charged-particle beam onto the sample;

an image creating module that generates an image associated with the sample according to the secondary charged-particle beam detected by the detecting unit;

a plurality of movable probes which can make contact with the sample;

a probe selecting module that selects, from the plural probes, a probe to be brought into contact with the sample; and

a display screen that displays the image which is associated with the sample and which is created by the image creating module, and the image associated with the probe selected by the probe selecting unit together with information indicating that the probe selected by the probe selecting unit is operable;

further comprising

a sample information image processing module that displays information of the sample as an image on the display unit, wherein;

the image of the information of the sample and the plural images of probes are displayed on the display screen by the probe image creating module at the same time; and

a probe to be moved toward or retracted from the image of the information of the sample is selected from the plural probes by the probe selecting module; and

a distance calculating module that calculates, in the operation to bring the probe into contact with the target, distance between a tip end of the probe and the target before the probe is brought into contact with the target; and

a distance display screen that displays the distance calculated by the distance calculating module on the display screen.

18. A defect inspecting apparatus, comprising:

an emitting module that emits a charged-particle beam from a charged-particle source onto a sample;

an image shift module that moves a point on the sample of the charged-particle beam, the beam being emitted onto the point;

a detecting module that detects a beam of secondary charged particles appearing due to emission of the charged-particle beam onto the sample;

an image creating module that generates an image associated with the sample according to the secondary charged-particle beam detected by the detecting unit;

a plurality of movable probes which can make contact with the sample;

a probe selecting module that selects, from the plural probes, a probe to be brought into contact with the sample; and

a display screen that displays the image which is associated with the sample and which is created by the image creating module, and the image associated with the probe selected by the probe selecting unit together with information indicating that the probe selected by the probe selecting unit is operable;

further comprising;

a first retracting unit that retracts, for each of coordinate axes of a probe selected by the probe selecting module to a position of an origin the coordinate axis;

a second retracting unit that retracts the probe to a position of an origin of each of coordinate axes of the probe; and

a third retracting unit that retracts a plurality of probes to positions of origins of coordinate axes respectively of each of the probes, wherein

a switch to operate the first, second, and third retracting units on the display screen.