Sample surface inspection apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A method of forming a resistive film on a surface of a sample comprising the steps of:
- rotating the sample at a rotational speed with the sample being held in a substantial horizontal situation;
dropping a liquid film material on the sample surface while the sample is being rotated, to form a resistive film thereon; and
dropping a solvent which solves the resistive film formed on the sample surface while the sample is being rotated at a rotational speed, thereby dissolving a part of the resistive film to obtain the resistive film having a desired level of thickness.
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Abstract
The present invention provides a surface inspection method and apparatus for inspecting a surface of a sample, in which a resistive film is coated on the surface, and a beam is irradiated to the surface having the resistive film coated thereon, to thereby conduct inspection of the surface of the sample. In the surface inspection method of the present invention, a resistive film having an arbitrarily determined thickness t1 is first coated on a surface of a sample. Thereafter, a part of the resistive film having the arbitrarily determined thickness t1 is dissolved in a solvent, to thereby reduce the thickness of the resistive film to a desired level. This enables precise control of a value of resistance of the resistive film and suppresses distortion of an image to be detected.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method of forming a resistive film on a surface of a sample comprising the steps of:
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rotating the sample at a rotational speed with the sample being held in a substantial horizontal situation; dropping a liquid film material on the sample surface while the sample is being rotated, to form a resistive film thereon; and dropping a solvent which solves the resistive film formed on the sample surface while the sample is being rotated at a rotational speed, thereby dissolving a part of the resistive film to obtain the resistive film having a desired level of thickness. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. An apparatus for forming a resistive film on a surface of a sample comprising:
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a spin coater which drops a liquid film material on the sample surface while the sample is being rotated at a rotational speed with the sample being held in a substantial horizontal situation, thereby forming a resistive film on the sample surface; and a film thickness uniformalizing mechanism which makes the thickness of the resistive film formed on the sample surface thin and uniform by dissolving a part of the resistive film with a solvent. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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8. A method of inspecting a surface of a sample comprising the steps of;
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coating the sample surface with a resistive film having an arbitrarily determined thickness; dissolving a part of the resistive film, to thereby reduce the thickness of the resistive film to a desired level which is thinner than that of the arbitrarily determined thickness; and irradiating a charged particle beam to the sample surface coated with the resistive film, to thereby conduct inspection of the sample surface. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for inspecting a surface of a sample comprising:
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a surface flattening mechanism for flattening the sample surface; a resistive film coating mechanism for coating a resistive film on the sample surface after the surface is flattened by the surface flattening mechanism, the resistive film having an arbitrarily determined thickness, and then dissolving a part of the resistive film in a solvent, to thereby reduce the thickness of the resistive film to a desired level; an inspection mechanism for emitting a charged particle beam to the sample surface having the resistive film coated thereon, to thereby conduct inspection of the sample surface; and a conveyor mechanism for conveying the sample between the mechanisms. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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Specification