Abstract: A method, apparatus, and software for guiding users during optical inspection and measurement of coated and noncoated substrates with an optical measurement system is provided. The optical measurement system incorporates an integrated recipe and data browser with sortable features to facilitate the optical inspection and measurement by the user.

Abstract: The invention relates to an arrangement for transporting and inspecting semiconductor substrates (6), having at least three workstations (8, 10, 12), a changer (14), which has at least three arms (14a, 14b, 14c) which are designed to load the individual workstations (8, 10, 12) with semiconductor substrates (6). A measuring device (15) is assigned to the second workstation (10), determines the deviation of the current position of the semiconductor substrate (6) and makes it available to the arrangement (3) for the further inspection of the semiconductor substrate (6). In addition, the changer (14) is not equipped with means for exact positioning of the semiconductor substrates (6) in the workstations (8, 10, 12).

Abstract: An arrangement for illuminating a specimen field in an optical instrument for specimen viewing includes: an illumination device, arranged in a housing, including a light source and an illuminating optical system, where a position of the light source or illuminating optical system is adjustable within the illumination device; a setting device including at least one drive system and configured to positionally adjust the light source or illuminating optical system; at least one linkage member connected to the light source or illuminating optical system, where the linkage member includes a coupling member accessible by the setting device from outside the housing; at least one measurement device configured to sense parameters of the light generated by the illumination device; and a control device that is configured to generate positioning commands for positional adjustment of the light source or illuminating optical system by the drive system as a function of the sensed parameters.

Abstract: An arrangement for the visual inspection of substrates (S) comprises a microscope (2) for viewing the substrate (S) present at an inspection point (I); at least one viewing field (11), arranged next to a microscope viewing port (2a), for viewing an image or an image area of the substrate (S); and/or at least one further viewing field (12), arranged next to the microscope viewing port (2a), for direct viewing of the substrate (S) or a portion of the substrate (S); the microscope viewing port (2a) and the viewing fields (11, 12) being arranged with respect to an operating position (P) in such a way that from the operating position (P), the viewer looks in a first viewing direction (A) perpendicularly onto the microscope viewing port (2a), and in at least one further viewing direction (B, B′) approximately perpendicularly in each case onto one of the viewing fields (11, 12). The first viewing direction (A) and the viewing directions (B, B′) enclose acute angles (&agr;, &agr;′).

Abstract: The invention refers to an optical measurement arrangement, in particular for layer thickness measurement and for ascertaining optical material properties such as refractive index, extinction factor, etc. of a specimen (P), having an illumination device (1) for emitting a measurement light beam (6), a beam splitter (8) for dividing the measurement light beam (6) into a specimen light beam (10) and a reference light beam (9), a measurement objective for directing the specimen light beam (10) onto a measurement location (M) on the surface of the specimen (P) and for acquiring the light reflected from the measurement location (M), and an analysis device (11) into which the reference light beam (9) and the specimen light beam (10) reflected from the specimen (P) are coupled in order to obtain information about the specimen (P), in particular about layer thicknesses present thereon.

Abstract: The invention concerns a method for the determination of layer thicknesses and optical parameters of a number of layers of a specimen, in which the reflectance spectrum of the specimen is measured and then smoothed, and a modeled reflectance spectrum is adapted to the measured one by means of an optimization criterion so as thereby to determine the layer thickness.

Abstract: The invention relates to an arrangement for transporting and inspecting semiconductor substrates (6), having at least three workstations (8, 10, 12), a changer (14), which has at least three arms (14a, 14b, 14c) which are designed to load the individual workstations (8, 10, 12) with semiconductor substrates (6). A measuring device (15) is assigned to the second workstation (10), determines the deviation of the current position of the semiconductor substrate (6) and makes it available to the arrangement (3) for the further inspection of the semiconductor substrate (6). In addition, the changer (14) is not equipped with means for exact positioning of the semiconductor substrates (6) in the workstations (8, 10, 12).

Abstract: The invention concerns an optical measurement arrangement having an ellipsometer, in which an incident beam (16) of polarized light is directed at an angle of incidence &agr;≠0° onto a measurement location (M) on the surface of a specimen (P). Information concerning properties of the specimen (P), preferably concerning layer thicknesses and optical material properties such as refractive index n, extinction coefficient k, and the like, is obtained from an analysis of a return beam (17) reflected from the specimen (P). The incident beam (16) is directed by a mirror objective (15) onto the surface of the specimen (P). The return beam (17) is also captured by the mirror objective (15). The result is to create an optical measurement arrangement, operating on the ellipsometric principle, which has a simple, compact configuration and permits a high measurement accuracy down to the sub-nanometer range.

Abstract: The invention relates to an arrangement for transporting and inspecting semiconductor substrates (6), having at least three workstations (8, 10, 12), a changer (14), which has at least three arms (14a, 14b, 14c ) which are designed to load the individual workstations (8, 10, 12) with semiconductor substrates (6). A measuring device (15) is assigned to the second workstation (10), determines the deviation of the current position of the semiconductor substrate (6) and makes it available to the arrangement (3) for the further inspection of the semiconductor substrate (6). In addition, the changer (14) is not equipped with means for exact positioning of the semiconductor substrates (6) in the workstations (8, 10, 12).

Abstract: The invention concerns an arrangement (1) for inspecting preferably unpatterned wafers, and comprises: a first optical inspection device (2) for examining reference wafers (R), which operates using image data processing methods and thereby recognizes defects on the reference wafers; a scattered-light measuring instrument (3) that is calibrated with the reference wafers (R) by defining at least one threshold value for the recognition of defects on wafers (W) to be inspected, and that comprises means (6) for recording the locations of threshold value exceedances for the wafers (W) to be inspected; [and] a second optical inspection device (4) for examination, only at those locations at which a threshold value exceedance is identified, of the wafers (W) to be inspected, which also comprises a classification device. The scattered-light measuring instrument (3) and the second optical inspection device (4) are arranged in one production line (P) as sequentially located stations.

Abstract: According to the present invention, an arrangement for illuminating a specimen field in an optical instrument (40) comprises an illumination device (41) having a light source (42) and an illuminating optical system (43), at least the position of the light source (42) being adjustable; a setting device (44) having at least one motorized drive system (45, 46) for automatic positional adjustment of the light source (42) and/or the illuminating optical system (43); at least one measurement device (55) for sensing parameters of the light generated by the illumination device (41); and a control device (56) that, from a comparison of the measured parameters with predefined reference parameters, generates positioning commands for the motorized drive systems (45, 46) for positional adjustment of the light source (42) and/or the illuminating optical system (43). A corresponding method is also described.

Abstract: The invention refers to a setting module for an illumination apparatus (2) of an optical instrument (1), in particular of a microscope, in which the illumination apparatus (2) comprises a light source (4), an illuminating optical system, and positioning elements (7, 8, 9, 16) with which the position of the light source (4) and/or of the illuminating optical system within the illumination apparatus (2) can be modified. The setting module (17) comprises a module housing (18) having at least one drive device (19, 20, 21, 22) and coupling members (27, 28, 29, 30) for the transfer of a drive motion to the positioning elements (7, 8, 9, 16).

Abstract: An optical measurement arrangement includes an ellipsometer (45) and a device for ascertaining and correcting directional deviations between the line normal to the specimen surface and the angle bisector (25) between the incident and return beams (23, 24) of the ellipsometer (45). A measurement arrangement includes a mirror objective and a device for ascertaining directional deviations between the line normal to the specimen surface and the optical axis of the mirror objective, which has a deflection element in the unused aperture space of the mirror objective. A direction monitoring beam (30) is directed onto the specimen (P). An optical element for imaging the return reflection of the direction monitoring beam (30) onto an area detector that is connected to an evaluation circuit (46) is also provided. Positioning commands for a specimen stage (12) are available at the outputs of the evaluation circuit (46).

Abstract: The invention concerns an arrangement for wafer inspection, having a device (3) for transporting the wafers (S) from a transfer station (5) to at least one inspection station (7, 9). For transportation of the wafers (S), the device (3) comprises a feeder (4), rotatable about a rotation axis (Z), having at least one wafer support (14) whose position is pivotable, with the rotation of the feeder (4), between the transfer station (5) and inspection station (7, 9); and a drive device (18) that is coupled to the feeder (4) and with the activation of which the feeder (4) is caused to rotate through a predefined reference rotation angle.

Abstract: In a method for monitoring the measurement light emitted from an illumination apparatus for an optical measuring instrument, a continuous sensing of measurement light parameters is performed. The sensed measurement light parameters are compared to predefined setpoints. Any deviation from the predefined parameter ranges associated with the setpoints is signaled. This signal is used to initiate a lamp exchange on the illumination apparatus, which has multiple lamps that can be selectively switched on and off individually or in groups. Also described is a corresponding illumination apparatus that preferably performs a lamp exchange automatically. The result is to identify a point in time for a lamp change that is optimal with regard to measurement accuracy and the longest possible utilization of the lamps, so that a measurement light quality that remains consistent during continuous operation can reliably be maintained within predefined tolerance ranges.

Abstract: An arrangement for the identification of a substrate (S) having at least one identification marking (I), comprising

Abstract: An arrangement for the visual inspection of substrates (S) comprises a microscope (2) for viewing the substrate (S) present at an inspection point (I); at least one viewing field (11), arranged next to a microscope viewing port (2a), for viewing an image or an image area of the substrate (S); and/or at least one further viewing field (12), arranged next to the microscope viewing port (2a), for direct viewing of the substrate (S) or a portion of the substrate (S); the microscope viewing port (2a) and the viewing fields (11, 12) being arranged with respect to an operating position (P) in such a way that from the operating position (P), the viewer looks in a first viewing direction (A) perpendicularly onto the microscope viewing port (2a), and in at least one further viewing direction (B, B′) approximately perpendicularly in each case onto one of the viewing fields (11, 12). The first viewing direction (A) and the viewing directions (B, B′) enclose acute angles (&agr;, &agr;′).

Abstract: The invention relates to an arrangement for transporting and inspecting semiconductor substrates (6), having at least three workstations (8, 10, 12), a changer (14), which has at least three arms (14a, 14b, 14c) which are designed to load the individual workstations (8, 10, 12) with semiconductor substrates (6). A measuring device (15) is assigned to the second workstation (10), determines the deviation of the current position of the semiconductor substrate (6) and makes it available to the arrangement (3) for the further inspection of the semiconductor substrate (6). In addition, the changer (14) is not equipped with means for exact positioning of the semiconductor substrates (6) in the workstations (8, 10, 12).