Patents Assigned to Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
  • Publication number: 20200066487
    Abstract: In a plasma processing apparatus that can adjust an induction magnetic field distribution of power feeding sections of an induction coil, correct a plasma distribution on a specimen, and apply uniform plasma processing to the specimen, the specimen is subjected to plasma processing, a dielectric window that forms the upper surface of the vacuum processing chamber, a gas lead-in section that leads gas into the vacuum processing chamber, a specimen table that is arranged in the vacuum processing chamber and on which the specimen is placed, an induction coil provided above the dielectric window, and a radio-frequency power supply that supplies radio-frequency power to the induction coil. The plasma processing apparatus includes a flat conductor arranged below the induction coil. The induction coil includes crossing power feeding sections. The conductor is arranged below the power feeding sections.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 31, 2019
    Publication date: February 27, 2020
    Applicant: HITACHI HIGH-TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yusaku Sakka, Ryoji Nishio, Tadayoshi Kawaguchi
  • Publication number: 20200066484
    Abstract: There is provided a charged particle beam device which includes a charged particle beam source, a charged particle beam optical system that irradiates a sample with a charged particle beam from the charged particle beam source, a detector that detects a secondary signal generated from the sample by irradiation with the charged particle beam, and an image processing unit that executes integration processing of image data obtained from the secondary signal and outputting an integrated image, and in which the image processing unit executes a normalization integration computation of outputting an integrated image in which a luminance value of the integrated image is always “1” in an integration process.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 4, 2019
    Publication date: February 27, 2020
    Applicant: HITACHI HIGH-TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masato KAMIO, Masashi WATANABE, Katsunori HIRANO, Yoshinobu HOSHINO, Shigeru KAWAMATA, Yuichi SAKURAI
  • Patent number: 10573489
    Abstract: A charged particle beam device includes a charged particle source which emits a charged particle beam radiated on a sample; a condenser lens system which has at least one condenser lens focusing the charged particle beam at a predetermined demagnification; a deflector which is positioned between a condenser lens of a most downstream side and a charged particle source in the condenser lens system, and moves a virtual position of the charged particle source; and a control unit which controls the deflector and the condenser lens system. The control unit controls the deflector to move the virtual position of the charged particle source to a position of suppressing a deviation, which is caused by a change of the demagnification of the condenser lens system, of a center trajectory of the charged particle beam in the downstream of the condenser lens system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 25, 2020
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventor: Shuhei Yabu
  • Patent number: 10566172
    Abstract: A charged particle beam apparatus with reduced frequency of lens resetting operations and thus with improved throughput. The apparatus includes an electron source configured to generate an electron beam, an objective lens to which coil current is adapted to be applied to converge the electron beam on a sample, a focal position adjustment device configured to adjust the focal position of the electron beam, a detector configured to detect electrons from the sample, a display unit configured to display an image of the sample in accordance with a signal from the detector, a storage unit configured to store information on the hysteresis characteristics of the objective lens, and an estimation unit configured to estimate a magnetic field generated by the objective lens on the basis of the coil current, the amount of adjustment of the focal position by the focal position adjustment device, and the information on the hysteresis characteristics.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2020
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Tomohito Nakano, Toshiyuki Yokosuka, Yuko Sasaki, Minoru Yamazaki, Yuzuru Mochizuki
  • Patent number: 10558127
    Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide an exposure condition evaluation device that appropriately evaluates a wafer exposure condition or calculates an appropriate exposure condition, on the basis of information obtained from an FEM wafer, without relying on the formation state of the FEM wafer. In order to achieve the foregoing, the present invention proposes an exposure condition evaluation device which evaluates an exposure condition of a reduction projection exposure device, on the basis of the information of patterns exposed on a sample by the reduction projection exposure device, and which uses a second feature amount of a plurality of patterns formed by making exposure conditions uniform to correct a first feature amount of a plurality of patterns formed by a plurality of different exposure condition settings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2020
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Shinichi Shinoda, Yasutaka Toyoda, Hiroyuki Ushiba, Hitoshi Sugahara
  • Patent number: 10559450
    Abstract: The present invention enlarges a range of movement of field of view by beam deflection with a simple deflector configuration and suppresses deterioration of a signal electron detection rate caused by the beam deflection. A scanning electron microscope according to the present invention is provided with a first deflection field setting module that sets plural deflectors to move a scanning area on a specimen by a primary electron beam to a position deviated from an axis extended from an electron source toward the center of an objective lens and a second deflection field setting module that sets the plural deflectors so that trajectories of signal electrons are corrected without changing the scanning area set by the first deflection field setting module. The control unit controls the plural deflectors by adding a setting value set by the second deflection field setting module to a setting value set by the first deflection field setting module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2020
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Noritsugu Takahashi, Yasunari Sohda, Akira Ikegami, Yuta Kawamoto
  • Patent number: 10559074
    Abstract: A sample observation device images a sample placed on a movable table by irradiating and scanning the sample with a charged particle beam of a microscope. A degraded image having poor image quality and a high quality image having satisfactory image quality which are acquired at the same location of the sample by causing the charged particle microscope to change an imaging condition for imaging the sample are stored. An estimation process parameter is calculated for estimating the high quality image from the degraded image by using the stored degraded image and high quality image. A high quality image estimation unit processes the degraded image obtained by causing the charged particle microscope to image the desired site of the sample by using the calculated estimation process parameter. Thereby, the high quality image obtained at the desired site is estimated, and then the estimated high quality image is output.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2020
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Minoru Harada, Yuji Takagi, Naoaki Kondo, Takehiro Hirai
  • Patent number: 10559447
    Abstract: A charged particle apparatus including a charged particle source unit; a blanking electrode unit that blanks a charged particle beam launched from the charged particle source unit; a deflecting electrode unit that deflects the charged particle beam; an objective lens unit that converges the charged particle beam deflected by the deflecting electrode unit and radiates the charged particle beam to a surface of a sample; a secondary charged particle detection unit that detects a secondary charged particle generated from the sample; a signal processing unit that processes a signal obtained by detecting the secondary charged particle; and a control unit that corrects a transient signal when the blanking of the charged particle beam is turned off by the blanking electrode, such that an image with no distortion can be obtained even when the blanking electrode is operated to turn on and off at a high speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2020
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Ryo Kadoi, Wen Li, Kazuki Ikeda, Hajime Kawano, Hiroyuki Takahashi
  • Patent number: 10559481
    Abstract: Provided are a plasma processing apparatus with a radio-frequency power supply supplying temporally modulated intermittent radio-frequency power which can be controlled with high precision in a wide repetition frequency band, and a plasma processing method using the plasma processing apparatus. A plasma processing apparatus includes: a vacuum vessel; a plasma generating section plasma in the vacuum vessel; a stage installed in the vacuum vessel and mounted with a sample; and a radio-frequency power supply applying temporally modulated intermittent radio-frequency power to the stage, wherein the radio-frequency power supply has two or more different frequency bands and temporally modulates the radio-frequency power by a repetition frequency which has the same range of analog signals used in each of the frequency band.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2020
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Michikazu Morimoto, Yasuo Ohgoshi, Yuuzou Oohirabaru, Tetsuo Ono
  • Patent number: 10551346
    Abstract: An ion analysis device includes: an ion source that ionizes an analyte in a liquid sample; an ion guide into which droplets and ions produced in the ion source are introduced, the ion guide having different outlets, one outlet being an ion outlet for the ions and the other outlet being a droplet outlet for the droplets; an ion analysis unit that analyzes ions ejected from the ion outlet; a droplet measurement unit that is placed on an axis of the droplet outlet, and measures the amount of droplets; and an analysis control section that compares the amount of droplets measured at the droplet measurement unit with a threshold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2020
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Kazushige Nishimura, Masuyuki Sugiyama, Hideki Hasegawa, Yuichiro Hashimoto
  • Patent number: 10551398
    Abstract: When a specimen transport system transfers a specimen container to a transport rack, the specimen container located at a position adjacent to a transfer position thereof is inclined on the rack, and there is a possibility that the one specimen container may collide with the other specimen container when the one specimen container is transferred. Where the transferred specimen container is inclined after being transferred, and a specimen container transfer mechanism is raised from the location, there is also a possibility that the one specimen container and the other specimen container adjacent thereto may collide with each other. Consequently, an inclination angle of a transferred specimen container and a specimen container adjacent thereto is corrected by loading a specimen container inclination correction mechanism including two inclination correction units at a specimen container transfer position. In this manner, a contact risk is suppressed and a stable transfer process is made possible.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 4, 2020
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Kazuma Tamura, Toshiki Yamagata, Hiroki Ihara
  • Patent number: 10546718
    Abstract: Even in a case where a disturbance is applied from an adjacently disposed power supply circuit or the like, in order to realize a reduction in ripple, a high-voltage power supply device is configured to include a drive circuit, a transformer that boosts an output voltage of the drive circuit, a boost circuit that further boosts a voltage boosted by the transformer, a shield that covers the transformer and the boost circuit, a filter circuit that filters, smoothes, and outputs a high voltage output from the boost circuit, and an impedance loop circuit configured by connection of a plurality of impedance elements into a loop shape. A grounding point of the boost circuit, a grounding point of the shield, and a grounding point of the filter circuit are configured to be grounded via the impedance loop circuit, and this is applied to a high-voltage power supply unit that applies a high voltage to an electron gun of a charged particle beam apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2020
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takuma Nishimoto, Wen Li, Hiroyuki Takahashi, Hajime Kawano
  • Patent number: 10545018
    Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide a pattern measurement device which adequately evaluates a pattern formed by means of a patterning method for forming a pattern that is not in a photomask. In order to fulfil the purpose, the present invention suggests a pattern measurement device provided with a computation device for measuring the dimensions between patterns formed on a sample, wherein: the centroid of the pattern formed on the sample is extracted from data to be measured obtained by irradiating beams; a position alignment process is executed between the extracted centroid and measurement reference data in which a reference functioning as the measurement start point or measurement end point is set; and the dimensions between the measurement start point or the measurement end point of the measurement reference data, which was subjected to position alignment, and the edge or the centroid of the pattern contained in the data to be measured is measured.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2020
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Satoru Yamaguchi, Norio Hasegawa, Akiyuki Sugiyama, Miki Isawa, Akihiro Onizawa, Ryuji Mitsuhashi
  • Patent number: 10545017
    Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to provide an overlay error measuring device which measures an overlay error with high accuracy even when a lower layer pattern is disposed under a thin film and a sufficient signal amount cannot be ensured. The present invention proposes an overlay error measuring device provided with an arithmetic processing unit for measuring a pattern formed on a sample on the basis of a signal waveform obtained by a charged particle beam device. The arithmetic processing unit finds a correlation with the signal waveform using a partial waveform obtained on the basis of partial extraction of the signal waveform, forms a correlation profile indicating the correlation, and measures an overlay error using the correlation profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2020
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Satoru Yamaguchi, Kei Sakai, Osamu Inoue, Kazuyuki Hirao, Osamu Komuro
  • Patent number: 10541103
    Abstract: The purpose of the present invention is to reduce the amount of charged particles that are lost by colliding with the interior of a column of a charged particle beam device, and detect charged particles with high efficiency. To achieve this purpose, proposed is a charged particle beam device provided with: an objective lens that focuses a charged particle beam; a detector that is disposed between the objective lens and a charged particle source; a deflector that deflects charged particles emitted from a sample such that the charged particles separate from the axis of the charged particle beam; and a plurality of electrodes that are disposed between the deflector and the objective lens and that form a plurality of electrostatic lenses for focusing the charged particles emitted from the sample on a deflection point of the deflector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2020
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Yuzuru Mizuhara, Toshiyuki Yokosuka, Hideyuki Kazumi, Kouichi Kurosawa, Kenichi Myochin
  • Patent number: 10537893
    Abstract: An automatic analysis apparatus is capable of replacing circulated water in a reaction vessel and continuously cooling a light source lamp without stopping an operation for measuring a specimen. In an operation state, a drain electromagnetic valve 49 is opened to drain reaction vessel water outside and when the water level reaches a measurement limit water level, the drain electromagnetic valve 49 is closed. The reaction vessel water is supplied by starting a water supply pump, opening a water supply electromagnetic valve and when the water level has reached a full water level, the water supply electromagnetic valve is closed, and the water supply pump is stopped. In a state other than the operation state, the reaction vessel water is drained outside. When the water level has reached a circulation limit water level, the drain electromagnetic valve is closed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2020
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventor: Teruhiro Yamano
  • Patent number: 10541115
    Abstract: In a plasma processing apparatus that can adjust an induction magnetic field distribution of power feeding sections of an induction coil, correct a plasma distribution on a specimen, and apply uniform plasma processing to the specimen, the specimen is subjected to plasma processing, a dielectric window that forms the upper surface of the vacuum processing chamber, a gas lead-in section that leads gas into the vacuum processing chamber, a specimen table that is arranged in the vacuum processing chamber and on which the specimen is placed, an induction coil provided above the dielectric window, and a radio-frequency power supply that supplies radio-frequency power to the induction coil. The plasma processing apparatus includes a flat conductor arranged below the induction coil. The induction coil includes crossing power feeding sections. The conductor is arranged below the power feeding sections.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 1, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2020
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Yusaku Sakka, Ryoji Nishio, Tadayoshi Kawaguchi
  • Patent number: 10539584
    Abstract: A CTS nozzle achieves the object of reducing rubber chips produced when the CTS nozzle is inserted into and extracted from a rubber plug of a sample container during dispensing of a sample, thereby inhibiting the wear of the tip of the CTS nozzle. The CTS nozzle has two cut surfaces at its tip, and the pressure applied from the rubber when the nozzle is inserted into the rubber plug is dispersed onto the two cut surfaces without being deflected onto one of the cut surfaces. The pressure applied to the nozzle due to the resilience of the rubber being pushed away by the nozzle is thus dispersed and the rubber chips produced by the friction between the cut surfaces of the nozzle and the rubber are reduced. As a result of the reduced friction, the wear of the tip of the nozzle is minimized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2020
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Yosuke Horie, Tomohiro Inoue, Hitoshi Tokieda, Takamichi Mori
  • Patent number: 10535497
    Abstract: An electron microscope for observation by illuminating an electron beam on a specimen, includes: an edge element disposed in a diffraction plane where a direct beam not diffracted by but transmitted through the specimen converges or a plane equivalent to the diffraction plane; and a control unit for controlling the electron beam or the edge element. The edge element includes a blocking portion for blocking the electron beam, and an aperture for allowing the passage of the electron beam. The aperture is defined by an edge of the blocking portion in a manner that the edge surrounds a convergence point of the direct beam in the diffraction plane. The control unit varies contrast of an observation image by shifting, relative to the edge, the convergence point of the direct beam along the edge while maintaining a predetermined distance between the convergence point of the direct beam and the edge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2020
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Hirokazu Tamaki, Ken Harada, Keiji Tamura, Yoshifumi Taniguchi, Hiroto Kasai, Toshie Yaguchi, Takafumi Yotsuji
  • Patent number: 10535129
    Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor inspection apparatus capable of well carrying out position alignment and correctly determining whether the position alignment has been carried out successfully or has ended in a failure without operator interventions even if an inspected image is an image having few characteristics as is the case with a repetitive pattern or the inspected image is an image having a complicated shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2020
    Assignee: HITACHI HIGH-TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
    Inventors: Masahiro Kitazawa, Mitsuji Ikeda, Yuichi Abe, Junichi Taguchi, Wataru Nagatomo