Abstract: A workpiece holder for holding a workpiece, which is used for an electron beam application apparatus for processing a workpiece by irradiating the surface of said workpiece with an electron beam, or observing the surface state of a workpiece by detecting secondary electrons produced from the workpiece by irradiation of the workpiece with an electron beam, includes a positioning portion which comes closer to an end portion of said workpiece when said workpiece holder holds the workpiece, thereby positioning the workpiece, in which the surface height of the end portion of the workpiece is nearly equal to the height of said positioning portion.

Abstract: Heights of a sample are calibrated by setting a calibrating substrate on a stage and then irradiating a charged particle beam onto standard marks provided on at least two kinds of surfaces having different substrate heights. Secondary charged particles produced from said irradiated standard marks on the substrate are and detected and a surface height of the irradiated portion of the substrate measured. The difference in height between the standard marks is set to be in a range containing an extent, over the entire sample, to which the height of the sample varies due to warping.

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 semiconductor fabricating apparatus for fabricating a semiconductor wafer includes a processing chamber, in which a workpiece is processed by irradiating the surface of said workpiece with an electron beam, a workpiece holder including a positioning portion for positioning the workpiece. The surface height of an end portion of the workpiece is nearly equal to the height of the positioning portion when the workpiece carried in the processing chamber is held on the workpiece holder.

Abstract: A circuit pattern inspection method and an apparatus therefor, in which the whole of a portion to be inspected of a sample to be inspected is made to be in a predetermined charged state, the portion to be inspected is irradiated with an image-forming high-density electron beam while scanning the electron beam, secondary charged particles are detected at a portion irradiated with: the electron beam after a predetermined period of time from an instance when the electron beam is irradiated, an image is formed on the basis of the thus detected secondary charged particle signal, and the portion to be inspected is inspected by using the thus formed image.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an inspection method using an electron beam and an inspection apparatus therefor, which are capable of enhancing the resolution, improving the inspection speed and reliability, and realizing miniaturization the apparatus.

Abstract: The present invention is intended to highly fast, stably acquire highly accurate images from irradiated positions with an electron beam on a circuit pattern in the step of fabricating a semiconductor device including an insulating material or a mixture of an insulating material and a conductive material, without occurrence of any deviation in the irradiated position in the images to be comparatively inspected, automatically comparing the images with each other thereby inspecting defects of the circuit pattern without occurrence of errors, and feeding back the result to the conditions of fabricating the semiconductor device thereby increasing the reliability of the semiconductor device and reducing the defective percentage thereof.

Abstract: In a pattern inspection device of the present invention having at least three electron-optical systems, detection signals approximately simultaneously obtained from identical circuit patterns are compared with each other. Further, areas around plural electron sources can be maintained at high degrees of vacuum by evacuating an electron gun chamber mounted with plural electron guns independently of a sample chamber. Further, electric fields and magnetic fields are confined in each electron-optical system by a shield electrode which makes it possible to evacuate an electron beam path to a high degree of vacuum, and at the same time, secondary electrons and reflected electrons are detected in the same electron-optical system by setting the samples to a negative voltage and accelerating secondary electrons and reflected electrons toward the electron source side in the direction of the electron beam axis.

Abstract: The present invention provides a wafer inspection technique capable of detecting a defect in a wafer on which a pattern having a large step such as a contact hole being subjected to a semiconductor manufacturing process is formed and obtaining information such as the position and kind of a defect such as a hole with open contact failure caused in dry etching process at high speed. A wafer on which a pattern having a large step being subjected to a semiconductor manufacturing process is formed is scanned and irradiated with an electron beam having irradiation energy which is in a range from 100 eV to 1,000 eV, and a defect is detected at high speed from an image of secondary electrons generated. Before the secondary electron image is captured, the wafer is irradiated with an electron beam at high speed while being moved to thereby charge the surface of the wafer with a desired charging voltage.

Abstract: Problems encountered in the conventional inspection method and the conventional apparatus adopting the method are solved by the present invention using an electron beam by providing a novel inspection method and an inspection apparatus adopting the novel method which are capable of increasing the speed to scan a specimen such as a semiconductor wafer. The inspection novel method provided by the present invention comprises the steps of: generating an electron beam; converging the generated electron beam on a specimen by using an objective lens; scanning the specimen by using the converged electron beam; continuously moving the specimen during scanning; detecting charged particles emanating from the specimen at a location between the specimen and the objective lens and converting the detected charged particles into an electrical signal; storing picture information conveyed by the electrical signal; comparing a picture with another by using the stored picture information; and detecting a defect of the specimen.

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: Problems encountered in the conventional inspection method and the conventional apparatus adopting the method are solved by the present invention using an electron beam by providing a novel inspection method and an inspection apparatus adopting the novel method which are capable of increasing the speed to scan a specimen such as a semiconductor wafer.

Abstract: A method for inspecting a pattern formed on a substrate, includes the steps of moving a table along a first direction on which a substrate to be inspected is mounted, irradiating a converged electron beam on the substrate by scanning the converged electron beam along a second direction which is perpendicular to the first direction; detecting an electron radiated from the substrate by the irradiation of the converged electron beam in which the movement of the table and the scanning of the converged electron beam are synchronized; forming a digital image of the substrate from the detected electron; improving a quality of the digital image by filtering the digital image; and detecting a defect of a pattern formed on the substrate by using the improved quality digital image.

Abstract: In the detecting system for irradiating the electron beam and detecting the secondary electron thereof, an area of the detector is an important factor for high-speed detection. For the technique of the current electron optical system and detector, a detector of the area larger than a constant area is necessary and detection of 200 Msps or more by receiving limitation on the frequency inversely proportional to the area is substantially difficult.

Abstract: A circuit pattern inspection method and an apparatus therefor, in which the whole of a portion to be inspected of a sample to be inspected is made to be in a predetermined charged state, the portion to be inspected is irradiated with an image-forming high-density electron beam while scanning the electron beam, secondary charged particles are detected at a portion irradiated with the electron beam after a predetermined period of time from an instance when the electron beam is radiated, an image is formed on the basis of the thus detected secondary charged particle signal, and the portion to be inspected is inspected by using the thus formed image.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an inspection method using an electron beam and an inspection apparatus therefor, which are capable of enhancing the resolution, improving the inspection speed and reliability, and realizing miniaturization the apparatus.

Abstract: Problems encountered in the conventional inspection method and the conventional apparatus adopting the method are solved by the present invention using an electron beam by providing a novel inspection method and an inspection apparatus adopting the novel method which are capable of increasing the speed to scan a specimen such as a semiconductor wafer. The novel inspection method provided by the present invention comprises the steps of: generating an electron beam; converging the generated electron beam on a specimen by using an objective lens; scanning the specimen by using the converged electron beam; continuously moving the specimen during scanning; detecting charged particles emanating from the specimen at a location between the specimen and the objective lens and converting the detected charged particles into an electrical signal; storing picture information conveyed by the electrical signal; comparing a picture with another by using the stored picture information; and detecting a defect of the specimen.

Abstract: A circuit pattern inspection method and an apparatus therefor, in which the whole of a portion to be inspected of a sample to be inspected is made to be in a predetermined charged state, the portion to be inspected is irradiated with an image-forming high-density electron beam while scanning the electron beam, secondary charged particles are detected at a portion irradiated with the electron beam after a predetermined period of time from an instance when the electron beam is irradiated, an image is formed on the basis of the thus detected secondary charged particle signal, and the portion to be inspected is inspected by using the thus formed image.

Abstract: Problems encountered in the conventional inspection method and the conventional apparatus adopting the method are solved by the present invention using an electron beam by providing a novel inspection method and an inspection apparatus adopting the novel method which are capable of increasing the speed to scan a specimen such as a semiconductor wafer.

Abstract: A method for inspecting a pattern formed on a substrate, includes the steps of moving a table along a first direction on which a substrate to be inspected is mounted, irradiating a converged electron beam on the substrate by scanning the converged electron beam along a second direction which is perpendicular to the first direction; detecting an electron radiated from the substrate by the irradiation of the converged electron beam in which the movement of the table and the scanning of the converged electron beam are synchronized; forming a digital image of the substrate from the detected electron; improving a quality of the digital image by filtering the compensated digital image; and detecting a defect of a pattern formed on the substrate by using the improved quality digital image.