Abstract: Electron beam is irradiated to a wafer in the midst of steps at predetermined intervals by a plurality of times under a condition in which a junction becomes rearward bias and a difference in characteristic of a time period of alleviating charge in the rearward bias is monitored. As a result, charge is alleviated at a location where junction leakage is caused in a time period shorter than that of a normal portion and therefore, a potential difference is produced between the normal portion and a failed portion and is observed in a potential contrast image as a difference in brightness. By consecutively repeating operation of acquiring the image, executing an image processing in real time and storing a position and brightness of the failed portion, the automatic inspection of a designated region can be executed. Information of image, brightness and distribution of the failed portion is preserved and outputted automatically after inspection.

Abstract: A scanning electron microscope or inspection system includes a sample stage on which a sample such as a wafer is loaded, an electro optical unit to scan an electron beam to the sample, and a charge control electrode to which voltage for controlling a charged state of the sample is applied. Further, there is provided an ultraviolet irradiation device for irradiating ultraviolet light onto the sample, a retarding electric source to apply a retarding voltage to the sample stage or the sample, and a detection unit for detecting secondary electrons or backscattering electrons generated in response to the scan of the electron beam. A monitoring unit for displaying an image of the sample or an inspection unit for inspection of the sample is provided which effects display or inspection based on signals from the detection unit.

Abstract: An inspection method and an inspection apparatus using an electron beam enabling more detailed and quantitative evaluation at a high throughput level. The method comprises the steps of irradiating, based on previously prepared information concerning a defect position on the surface of a sample, the defect and its vicinity with an electron beam a plurality of times at predetermined intervals; detecting an electron signal secondarily generated from the sample surface by the electron beam; imaging an electron signal detected by the previously specified n-th or later electron beam irradiation; and measuring the resistance or a leakage amount of the defective portion of the sample surface in accordance with the degree of charge relaxation by monitoring the charge relaxation state of the sample surface based on the electron beam image information.

Abstract: The present invention relates to detection of defects with simple specification of the coordinates, in the inspection of an object having a plurality of patterns in which a portion having the two-dimensional repetition and portions having the repetition only in the X direction and in the Y direction are mixedly present. The cross comparison between a notice point and comparison points, for example which are repetitive pitches away from the notice point, is carried out, and only the portion having the difference which can be found out with any of the comparison points is extracted as a defect candidate, which results in that the portion having the two-dimensional repetition as well as the portion having the repetition only in the X direction or in the Y direction can be inspected.

Abstract: An electron beam (area beam) having a fixed area is irradiated onto the surface of a semiconductor sample, and reflected electrons from the sample surface are imaged by the imaging lens, and images of a plurality of regions of the surface of the semiconductor sample are obtained and stored in the image storage unit, and the stored images of the plurality of regions are compared with each other, and the existence of a defect in the regions and the defect position are measured. By doing this, in an apparatus for testing a pattern defect of the same design, foreign substances, and residuals on a wafer in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor apparatus by an electron beam, speeding-up of the test can be realized.

Abstract: An electron beam system using a scanning electron microscope equipped with a function for controlling a charged state of a sample to be observed includes electron optics for obtaining image data of the scanning electron microscope, and a monitor that displays a relationship between an equation for determining a degree of separation of peaks which appear in a histogram obtained on a basis of the image data and at least one parameter among parameters for controlling the charged state of the sample. An optimized parameter for controlling the charged stage of the sample can be visually distinguished on the monitor.

Abstract: An apparatus for measuring a sample with a circuit pattern including at least a porous low-permittivity hydrogensilsesquioxane material or a material structurally or compositionally similar to the porous low-permittivity hydrogensilsesquioxane. The apparatus includes an electron beam optics unit which enables scanning of a primary electron beam onto the sample, a detector which detects a secondary electron or a reflected electron, an image processing unit which measures a desired portion of the sample irradiated with the primary electron beam based on an output signal of the detector, and a control unit which controls the irradiation energy and density of the primary electron beam onto the sample.

Abstract: The present invention provides an inspection technique using a charged particle beam by which a method of setting a condition for optimally charging an object to be inspected without relying on an operator's experience is established and a voltage contrast image with higher efficiency of defect detection than ever before can be obtained. The inspection method comprises the steps of scanning an area on a surface of a substrate having a specific pattern formed thereon with a primary charged particle beam, detecting signals of secondary electrons emitted from the area, forming an image of the area from detected signals, and generating a histogram from the image. All these steps are performed each time a condition of irradiation with the charged particle beam is changed. When two or more separate peaks appear in the histogram, the histogram is determined as an optimal condition for inspection, and inspection is performed based on the image obtained under that condition.

Abstract: An electron beam apparatus equipped with a review function of a semiconductor wafer includes a scanning electron microscope to obtain image information of a semiconductor wafer, and an information processing apparatus to process the image information. The information processing apparatus includes a data input unit to receive positional information of a defect on the wafer, a storage for storing a plurality of image information of a position on the wafer corresponding to the positional information, and an image processing unit that retrieves any of the plurality of image information, and classifies the retrieved image information corresponding to the positional information depending on the type of defect.

Abstract: An apparatus for inspecting a sample using a scanning electron microscope includes a sample stage, a first electron-optical system to scan an electron beam of a first beam current on the sample, a second electron-optical system to scan an electron beam of a second beam current smaller than the first beam current on the sample, a mechanism to move the sample stage, a detector provided in each of the first and second electron-optical systems to detect a secondary electron. The first electron-optical system is operable in a first mode and the second electron-optical system is operable in a second mode with higher resolution than that of the first mode. In the first mode, the sample is observed while the sample stage is moved continuously, and in the second mode, the sample is observed by detecting a secondary electron using the detector while the sample stage is held stationary.

Abstract: An inspection method and apparatus includes control of an acceleration voltage of an electron beam, irradiation of the electron beam to an object to be inspected mounted on a stage which is continuously moving at least in one direction, and detection of at least one of secondary electrons and reflected electrons emanated from the object in response to the irradiation. An image of the object is obtained from the detected electron by using positional information of the stage and inspection or measurement of the object is conducted using and obtained image. In the detection, an electric field in the vicinity of the object mounted on the stage is controlled so that at least one secondary electrons and the reflected electrons emanated from the object in response to the irradiation of the electron beam are decelerated.

Abstract: In order to enable the most suitable image processing condition to be set as one in which a dispersion in brightness between comparing images caused by object to be inspected and an image detecting system is not applied as a false information, in the present invention, there is obtained a noise characteristic of a secondary electron image caused by the image detecting system is calculated, the most suitable image processing parameters are determined depending on the object to be inspected on the basis of the characteristic, and its comparing processing is performed by using the noise characteristic and the image of the object to be inspected, thereby a dispersion in process for the object to be inspected is evaluated.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for inspecting a wafer in which a focused charged particle beam is irradiated onto a surface of a wafer on which patterns are formed through a semiconductor device fabrication process, a secondary charged particle image of a desired area of the wafer is obtained by detecting secondary charged particles emitted from the surface of the wafer, and information about image feature amount of each pattern within the desired area from the obtained secondary charged particle beam image. The information about image feature amount is compared with a preset value, and on the basis of a result of the comparison, a quality of patterns which have been formed around the desired area is estimated, and information of a result of the estimation is outputted.

Abstract: A sample inspection system having a sample stage holding a sample to be inspected, electron beam optics so as to radiate an electron beam to the sample, a detector unit that detects a secondly generated signal generated in response to radiation of the sample by the electron beam, a storage for storing a plurality of images obtained from the generated signal and information for classifying the plurality of images by a type of defect in the sample, and an image processing unit. The image processing unit retrieves any of the plurality of images and classifies the retrieved image depending on the type of defect including an electrical defect and a defect in the figure.

Abstract: A circuit pattern inspecting instrument includes an electron-optical system for irradiating an electron beam on a sample, an electron beam deflector, a detector for detecting secondary charged particles from the sample, and a mode setting unit for switching between a first mode and a second mode. An electron beam current is larger in the first mode than in the second mode, and an electron beam scanning speed is higher in the first mode than in the second mode. The circuit pattern inspecting instrument is configured so that first the sample is observed in the first mode, then a particular position on the sample is selected based on image data produced by an output of the detector in the first mode, and then the particular position on the sample is observed in the second mode.

Abstract: A scanning electron microscope or inspection system includes a sample stage on which a sample such as a wafer is loaded, an electro optical unit to scan an electron beam to the sample, and a charge control electrode to which voltage for controlling a charged state of the sample is applied. Further, there is provided an ultraviolet irradiation device for irradiating ultraviolet light onto the sample, a retarding electric source to apply a retarding voltage to the sample stage or the sample, and a detection unit for detecting secondary electrons or backscattering electrons generated in response to the scan of the electron beam. A monitoring unit for displaying an image of the sample or an inspection unit for inspection of the sample is provided which effects display or inspection based on signals from the detection unit.

Abstract: When the electrode potential of a charge control electrode above a wafer is reduced, image brightness is reduced. A point of change in the image brightness is a switching point between a positively charged state of the image and a negatively charged state of the image, showing the weakly charged state of the image. By setting this point of change as an inspecting condition, the amount of electric charges on the surface of the wafer can be reduced, and stable wafer inspection can be performed. It is estimated that an applied voltage V1 in FIG. 14 corresponds to the point of the change and is roughly included in the voltage range of a region enclosed by a broken line in the vicinity of the applied voltage V1. Within this voltage range, the influence of charge on an inspection under the inspecting condition can be reduced.

Abstract: An inspection method and an inspection apparatus using an electron beam enabling more detailed and quantitative evaluation at a high throughput level. The method comprises the steps of irradiating, based on previously prepared information concerning a defect position on the surface of a sample, the defect and its vicinity with an electron beam a plurality of times at predetermined intervals; detecting an electron signal secondarily generated from the sample surface by the electron beam; imaging an electron signal detected by the previously specified n-th or later electron beam irradiation; and measuring the resistance or a leakage amount of the defective portion of the sample surface in accordance with the degree of charge relaxation by monitoring the charge relaxation state of the sample surface based on the electron beam image information.

Abstract: To make possible the in-line inspection of a pattern of an insulating material. A patterned wafer 40 formed with a pattern by a resist film is placed on a specimen table 21 of a patterned wafer inspection apparatus 1 in opposed relation to a SEM 3. An electron beam 10 of a large current is emitted from an electron gun 11 and the pattern of the patterned wafer is scanned only once at a high scanning rate. The secondary electrons generated by this scanning from the patterned wafer are detected by a secondary electron detector 16 thereby to acquire an electron beam image. Using this electron beam image, the comparative inspection is conducted on the patterned wafer through an arithmetic operation unit 32 and a defect determining unit 33. Since an electron beam image of high contrast can be obtained by scanning an electron beam only once, a patterned wafer inspection method using a SEM can be implemented in the IC fabrication method.

Abstract: Inspection method and apparatus using a charged particle beam for the inspection of defects on an unfinished semiconductor wafer in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, a uniform charge across the wafer is attained by performing ultraviolet irradiation and voltage application to a charge control electrode in a coordinated manner.