Method of manufacturing a template matching template, as well as a device for manufacturing a template

• US 8,929,665 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2010
• Issued: 01/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/29/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi High-Tech Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Yamada, Yukari, Yang, Kyoungmo, Kakuta, Junichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Koziol, Stephen R
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lee, Jonathan S
• Application Number:
  US13/375,131
• Publication Number:
  US 20120070089A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,691 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 382/209
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 18/28 Determining representative reference patterns, e.g. by averaging or distorting; Generating dictionaries
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/10056 Microscopic image
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/20216 Image averaging
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30148 Semiconductor; IC; Wafer
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/74 involving reference images or patches
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 10/772 Determining representative reference patterns, e.g. averaging or distorting patterns; Generating dictionaries

Abstract

Provided is a method of manufacturing a template matching template, as well as a device for manufacturing a template, by both of which high matching accuracy can be stably ensured without being affected by factors such as process variations. As an embodiment of the above, a method of manufacturing a template matching template, as well as a relevant device, is proposed by both of which a template memorized in advance and an image acquired by a microscope are compared, thereby identifying a desired position, and by which a plurality of images at the identified location are acquired by template matching, and the aforementioned plurality of images are added and averaged, thereby manufacturing a new template.

Claims

1. A template-matching template creation method in which a desired location is identified by comparing a template stored in advance and an image acquired by a microscope, said template-matching template creation method comprising steps of:

accumulating a plurality of image data of a plurality of patterns formed under a same fabrication condition and at different fabrication timings, the plurality of image data having been acquired by said microscope, and the plurality of patterns having a same design;

performing a template-matching process using a reference image and each of the accumulated plurality of image data of the plurality of patterns; and

creating a template for template-matching by calculating an average of the plurality of image data of a predetermined number of patterns, locations of which are identified by the template-matching process while excluding old image data which has been used for the average calculation from the average calculation and including new image data of a pattern formed at a different fabrication timing in the average calculation.

2. The template-matching template creation method according to claim 1, further comprising a step of performing pattern edge emphasizing processing for the plurality of image data before calculating the average of the plurality of image data.

3. The template-matching template creation method according to claim 1, wherein the step of performing a template-matching process includes performing template-matching among the plurality of image data before calculating the average of the plurality of image data.

4. The template-matching template creation method according to claim 3, wherein

information on a difference between image data, which is acquired during the template-matching, is saved and the step of calculating the average is performed for the image data based on the difference information.

5. The template-matching template creation method according to claim 1, wherein

when there is a predetermined gap of matching rate between a previous template and a current template, image data for creating the previous template is not used as image data for creating a new template.

6. A template creation device that creates a template for identifying a desired location based on an image acquired by a microscope and based on a comparison with the microscope image, said template creation device comprising:

a computer storing a program,

wherein the program, when executed by the computer, causes the computer to function as;

an image data accumulation unit in which a plurality of the microscope image data of a plurality of patterns formed under a same fabrication condition and at different fabrication timings are accumulated, the plurality of patterns having a same design;

a template-matching process unit for performing a template-matching process using a reference image and each of the accumulated plurality of image data of the plurality of patterns; and

a template creating unit for creating a template for template-matching by calculating an average of the plurality of microscope image data of a predetermined number of patterns, locations of which are identified by the template-matching process while excluding old microscope image data which have been used for the average calculation from the average calculation and including new microscope image data of a pattern formed at a different fabrication timing in the average calculation.

7. The template creation device according to claim 6, wherein the program, when executed by the computer, causes the computer to further function as:

an image filtering unit that performs pattern edge emphasizing processing for the plurality of microscope image data before calculating the average of the plurality of microscope image data.

8. The template creation device according to claim 6, wherein the template-matching process unit performs template-matching among the plurality of microscope image data before calculating the average of the plurality of microscope image data.

9. The template creation device according to claim 8, wherein:

said template-matching process unit saves information on a difference between microscope image data, which is acquired during the template-matching, and performs calculating the average for the microscope image data based on the difference information.

10. The template creation device according to claim 6, wherein:

when there is a predetermined gap of matching rate between a previous template and a current template, said averaged image creation unit does not use microscope image data for creating the previous template as microscope image data for creating a new template.