Systems and methods for detecting defects on a wafer and generating inspection results for the wafer
First Claim
1. A computer-implemented method for detecting defects on a wafer and generating inspection results for the wafer, comprising:
- detecting defects on a wafer by comparing output generated by scanning of the wafer performed by an inspection system to one or more defect detection thresholds;
sampling outliers in the output by selecting the outputs having the highest values from bins defined based on one or more predetermined criteria;
selecting a portion of the sampled outliers based on wafer-level analysis of the sampled outliers; and
generating inspection results for the wafer by combining information about the selected portion of the sampled outliers with information about the defects detected using the one or more defect detection thresholds;
wherein the wafer-level analysis comprises identifying one or more signatures present in the sampled outliers, and wherein said selecting comprises comparing the defects detected using the one or more defect detection thresholds to the one or more signatures and selecting at least some of the sampled outliers such that the inspection results include at least some of the sampled outliers or defects corresponding to each of the one or more signatures.
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Abstract
Systems and methods for detecting defects on a wafer and generating inspection results for the wafer are provided. One method includes detecting defects on a wafer by comparing output generated by scanning of the wafer performed by an inspection system to one or more defect detection thresholds. The method also includes sampling outliers in the output by selecting the output having the highest values from bins defined based on one or more predetermined criteria. In addition, the method includes selecting a portion of the sampled outliers based on wafer-level analysis of the sampled outliers. The method further includes generating inspection results for the wafer by combining information about the selected portion of the sampled outliers with information about the defects detected using the one or more defect detection thresholds.
75 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A computer-implemented method for detecting defects on a wafer and generating inspection results for the wafer, comprising:
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detecting defects on a wafer by comparing output generated by scanning of the wafer performed by an inspection system to one or more defect detection thresholds; sampling outliers in the output by selecting the outputs having the highest values from bins defined based on one or more predetermined criteria; selecting a portion of the sampled outliers based on wafer-level analysis of the sampled outliers; and generating inspection results for the wafer by combining information about the selected portion of the sampled outliers with information about the defects detected using the one or more defect detection thresholds; wherein the wafer-level analysis comprises identifying one or more signatures present in the sampled outliers, and wherein said selecting comprises comparing the defects detected using the one or more defect detection thresholds to the one or more signatures and selecting at least some of the sampled outliers such that the inspection results include at least some of the sampled outliers or defects corresponding to each of the one or more signatures. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A computer-readable medium, comprising program instructions executable on a computer system for performing a computer-implemented method for detecting defects on a wafer and generating inspection results for the wafer, wherein the computer-readable medium is a storage medium, and wherein the computer-implemented method comprises:
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detecting defects on a wafer by comparing output generated by scanning of the wafer performed by an inspection system to one or more defect detection thresholds; sampling outliers in the output by selecting the outputs having the highest values from bins defined based on one or more predetermined criteria selecting a portion of the sampled outliers based on wafer-level analysis of the sampled outliers; and generating inspection results for the wafer by combining information about the selected portion of the sampled outliers with information about the defects detected using the one or more defect detection thresholds; wherein the wafer-level analysis comprises identifying one or more signatures present in the sampled outliers, and wherein said selecting comprises comparing the defects detected using the one or more defect detection thresholds to the one or more signatures and selecting at least some of the sampled outliers such that the inspection results include at least some of the sampled outliers or defects corresponding to each of the one or more signatures.
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20. A system configured to detect defects on a wafer and generate inspection results for the wafer, comprising:
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an inspection subsystem configured to generate output by scanning a wafer; and a computer subsystem configured to detect defects on the wafer by comparing the output to one or more defect detection thresholds, sample outliers in the output by selecting the outputs having the highest values from bins defined based on one or more predetermined criteria, select a portion of the sampled outliers based on wafer-level analysis of the sampled outliers, and generate inspection results for the wafer by combining information about the selected portion of the sampled outliers with information about the defects detected using the one or more defect detection thresholds, wherein the wafer-level analysis comprises identifying one or more signatures present in the sampled outliers, and wherein said selecting comprises comparing the defects detected using the one or more defect detection thresholds to the one or more signatures and selecting at least some of the sampled outliers such that the inspection results include at least some of the sampled outliers or defects corresponding to each of the one or more signatures.
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Specification