System and method for fault indication on a substrate in maskless applications

• US 7,403,865 B2
• Filed: 12/28/2004
• Issued: 07/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: ASML Netherlands BV (ASML Holding NV)
• Original Assignee: ASML Netherlands BV (ASML Holding NV)
• Inventors: Hoeks, Martinus
• Primary Examiner(s): Nghiem; Michael P
• Application Number:
  US11/022,926
• Publication Number:
  US 20060142967A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,302 Days
• Field of Search: 702/33, 702/35, 702/36, 702/40, 702/94, 702/95, 702/117, 702/119, 702/120, 702/150, 250/491.1, 250/492.1, 250/492.2, 250/492.22, 250/492.23
• US Class Current: 702/117
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70291 Addressable masks, e.g. spatial light modulators [SLMs], digital micro-mirror devices [DMDs] or liquid crystal display [LCD] patterning devices
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70508 Data handling in all parts of the microlithographic apparatus, e.g. handling pattern data for addressable masks or data transfer to or from different components within the exposure apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70541 Tagging, i.e. hardware or software tagging of features or components, e.g. using tagging scripts or tagging identifier codes for identification of chips, shots or wafers
• CPC Class Codes: G03F 7/70616 Monitoring the printed patterns

Abstract

A method and system for fault indication on a substrate. A method of the present invention includes the following steps. It is determined whether data includes at least one suspicious bit. A pattern generator is controlled with the data. A beam of radiation is patterned using the pattern generator. Features are projected by the patterned beam of radiation onto a target portion of a substrate. One or more markers are projected by the patterned beam of radiation onto the substrate indicating the target portions that correspond with the at least one suspicious bit.

Claims

1. A method for indicating fault on a substrate, comprising:

(a) prior to forming one or more portions of a pattern on the substrate, determining whether data corresponding to the one or more portions of the pattern include at least one suspicious bit;

(b) generating suspicious bit information corresponding to the at least one suspicious bit;

(c) controlling a pattern generator based on the data and the suspicious bit information;

(d) patterning a beam of radiation using the pattern generator; and

(e) projecting the patterned beam onto the substrate to form the one or more portions of the pattern and one or more markers thereon, wherein the one or more markers mark one or more potential faults in the one or more portions of the pattern corresponding to the at least one suspicious bit.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) comprises:

using an error detection algorithm to determine whether the data includes at least one suspicious bit.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein step (a) comprises:

comparing an error criterion to the data.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the error criterion comprises:

determining that at least one suspicious bit does not exist if one or more least significant bits of a digital binary number is a 1; and

determining that at least one suspicious bit exists if one or more most significant bits of the digital binary number is a 1.

5. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

manually inputting the error criterion.

6. The method of claim 1,

wherein the substrate comprises a flat panel display, and wherein the one or more markers act as coordinates of at least one suspicious portion of the flat panel display corresponding to the at least one suspicious bit.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

(f) inspecting areas of the substrate that include the one or more markers to determine if the one or more portions of the pattern associated with the one or more markers are within predetermined specifications.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises at least one of a semiconductor substrate, a flat panel display substrate, and a polymer substrate.

9. A system, comprising:

a control module that (i) detects whether data corresponding to one or more portions of a pattern include at least one suspicious bit, prior to forming the one or more portions of the pattern on a substrate, and (ii) generates suspicious bit information corresponding to the at least one suspicious bit;

a pattern generator that patterns a beam of radiation, wherein the data and the suspicious bit information are used to control the pattern generator; and

a projection system that projects the patterned beam of radiation onto a target portion of the substrate to form the one or more portions of the pattern and one or more markers thereon, wherein the one or more markers mark one or more potential faults in the one or more portions of the pattern corresponding to the at least one suspicious bit detected by the control module.

10. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

a memory that stores the data and the suspicious bit information relating to the at least one suspicious bit; and

a rasterizer that sends the data and the suspicious bit information to the pattern generator.

11. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

an input device for inputting an error criterion; and

a detector that compares the error criterion to the data to determine if at least one suspicious bit exists in the data.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the one or more markers act as a coordinate or coordinates on the substrate of the at least one suspicious bit.

13. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

an inspection system that inspects potential problem areas of the substrate marked by the one or more markers to determine if the one or more portions of the pattern on the substrate associated with the one or more markers are within predetermined specifications.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the substrate comprises at least one of a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate, and a polymer substrate.