Abstract: A deterioration prediction system for a semiconductor manufacturing equipment or a semiconductor inspection equipment, including: an input device receiving, as an input, time series data indicating a state of the equipment; a deterioration prediction device having an estimation unit discriminating fluctuation in the time series data into fluctuation caused by changing setting of the equipment and fluctuation caused by deterioration of the equipment and estimating a time point when the setting is changed, a division unit dividing the time series data into the plurality of periods bounded by the time points, a discrimination unit discriminating at least a trend component from the fluctuation in the time series data in the period, and a prediction unit predicting the deterioration of the equipment based on at least the trend component; and an output device outputting a result of the prediction.

Abstract: The present disclosure proposes a diagnostic system capable of properly identifying the cause of even an error for which multiple factors or multiple compound factors may be accountable. The diagnostic system according to the present disclosure is provided with a learning device for learning at least one of a recipe defining operations of an inspection device, log data describing states of the device, or specimen data describing characteristics of a specimen in association with error types of the device, and estimates the cause of the error by using the learning device (refer to FIG. 4).

Abstract: An error cause estimation device comprising: a data pre-processing unit that uses data to be processed and generates training data that has an appropriate format for input to a machine learning model; and a model tree generation unit that generates error detection models that are training models for detecting errors and uses the training data as inputs therefor, and generates a model tree that expresses the relationship between error detection models by using a tree structure that has the error detection models as node therefor. Thus, it is possible to generate a training model that detects errors for each of a plurality of types of errors that occur, even when there has been no prior annotation of error causes.

Abstract: An error cause estimation device comprises a feature value generation unit for using data transmitted from the outside to generate feature values suitable for a machine learning model; a model database having a plurality of error prediction models, for determining whether an error has occurred using the feature values as input data; a model evaluation unit for evaluating the performance of an error prediction model by comparing a prediction result of the error prediction model and an actually measured error; a model selection unit for selecting from the model database an error prediction model for which an evaluation value calculated by the model evaluation unit is greater than or equal to a preset defined value; and an error prediction model generation unit for generating a new error prediction model with respect to the measured error when no corresponding error prediction model has been selected by the model selection unit.

Abstract: The present disclosure proposes a diagnostic system capable of properly identifying the cause of even an error for which multiple factors or multiple compound factors may be accountable. The diagnostic system according to the present disclosure is provided with a learning device for learning at least one of a recipe defining operations of an inspection device, log data describing states of the device, or specimen data describing characteristics of a specimen in association with error types of the device, and estimates the cause of the error by using the learning device (refer to FIG. 4).

Abstract: A charged particle beam device is provided that performs proper beam adjustment while suppressing a decrease in MAM time, with a simple configuration without adding a lens, a sensor, or the like. The charged particle beam device includes: an optical element which adjusts a charged particle beam emitted from a charged particle source; an adjustment element which adjusts an incidence condition of the charged particle beam with respect to the optical element; and a control device which controls the adjustment element, wherein the control device determines a difference between a first feature amount indicating a state of the optical element based on the condition setting of the optical element, and a second feature amount indicating a state where the optical element reaches based on the condition setting and executes adjustment by the adjustment element when the difference is greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

Abstract: A charged particle beam device is provided that performs proper beam adjustment while suppressing a decrease in MAM time, with a simple configuration without adding a lens, a sensor, or the like. The charged particle beam device includes: an optical element which adjusts a charged particle beam emitted from a charged particle source; an adjustment element which adjusts an incidence condition of the charged particle beam with respect to the optical element; and a control device which controls the adjustment element, wherein the control device determines a difference between a first feature amount indicating a state of the optical element based on the condition setting of the optical element, and a second feature amount indicating a state where the optical element reaches based on the condition setting and executes adjustment by the adjustment element when the difference is greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

Abstract: A charged particle beam device is provided that performs proper beam adjustment while suppressing a decrease in MAM time, with a simple configuration without adding a lens, a sensor, or the like. The charged particle beam device includes: an optical element which adjusts a charged particle beam emitted from a charged particle source; an adjustment element which adjusts an incidence condition of the charged particle beam with respect to the optical element; and a control device which controls the adjustment element, wherein the control device determines a difference between a first feature amount indicating a state of the optical element based on the condition setting of the optical element, and a second feature amount indicating a state where the optical element reaches based on the condition setting and executes adjustment by the adjustment element when the difference is greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

Abstract: A scanning electron microscope capable of properly determining a step of a step pattern formed on a sample regardless of combination of material of a groove of the step pattern and material of a projection of the step pattern, the scanning electron microscope includes a beam source, a detection unit having a first detection unit that detects a secondary electron emitted from the sample at an angle between an optical axis direction of the primary electron beam which is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and a second detection unit that detects a secondary electron emitted from the sample at an angle between the optical axis direction of the primary electron beam which is greater than the predetermined value, and a processing unit to obtain information on the step pattern using the information on a ratio between signals outputted from the first and the second detection unit.

Abstract: A charged particle beam device is provided that performs proper beam adjustment while suppressing a decrease in MAM time, with a simple configuration without adding a lens, a sensor, or the like. The charged particle beam device includes: an optical element which adjusts a charged particle beam emitted from a charged particle source; an adjustment element which adjusts an incidence condition of the charged particle beam with respect to the optical element; and a control device which controls the adjustment element, wherein the control device determines a difference between a first feature amount indicating a state of the optical element based on the condition setting of the optical element, and a second feature amount indicating a state where the optical element reaches based on the condition setting and executes adjustment by the adjustment element when the difference is greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

Abstract: The invention has an object to provide a charged particle beam device in which it is possible to perform proper beam adjustment while suppressing a decrease in MAM time, with a simple configuration without adding a lens, a sensor, or the like.

Abstract: A scanning electron microscope capable of properly determining a step of a step pattern formed on a sample regardless of combination of material of a groove of the step pattern and material of a projection of the step pattern, the scanning electron microscope includes a beam source, a detection unit having a first detection unit that detects a secondary electron emitted from the sample at an angle between an optical axis direction of the primary electron beam which is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and a second detection unit that detects a secondary electron emitted from the sample at an angle between the optical axis direction of the primary electron beam which is greater than the predetermined value, and a processing unit to obtain information on the step pattern using the information on a ratio between signals outputted from the first and the second detection unit.

Abstract: The invention has an object to provide a charged particle beam device in which it is possible to perform proper beam adjustment while suppressing a decrease in MAM time, with a simple configuration without adding a lens, a sensor, or the like.

Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide: a sample unevenness device that stably identifies unevenness formed on a sample, regardless of a pattern formation state or image acquisition conditions; and a computer program. As an aspect to achieve the above object, a device and computer program are proposed that obtain the area of a plurality of regions formed by a profile waveform of a given threshold or lower for a profile formed based on a detection signal obtained by scanning with a charged particle beam with respect to the sample; and determine either or both of that a site corresponding to a region with a relatively large area is a concave portion or that a space portion and a site corresponding to a space with a relatively small area is a convex portion or a line portion.

Abstract: A charged particle radiation apparatus includes a control device that switches between a first charged particle beam and a second charged particle beam, the first charged particle beam being scanned to acquire an image and a waveform signal, the second charged particle beam being scanned over a sample before the scan of the first charged particle beam and used to charge the sample more than the first charged particle beam; wherein the control device is configured to acquire at least one of signal waveform data and image data about a pattern formed on the sample in accordance with a scan performed on the sample by the second charged particle beam, and to stop, when the acquired data has proved to be indicative of a predetermined state, the scan of the second charged particle beam.

Abstract: In measuring pattern with large process fluctuation, correct measurement cannot be carried out if noises, such as pattern that is not the subject to be measured, and dirt, are present in periphery of pattern to be measured in previously registered measurement region. Among the image data of sample, predetermined region aligned by pattern matching is set as region not to be measured that is excluded from subjects of pattern measurement. For example, in measuring pattern with large process fluctuation, only region including pattern with small process fluctuation is used in pattern matching, while in measuring the pattern, predetermined region, which was used in pattern matching and aligned, is set as region not to be measured. Stable pattern measurement can be easily carried out with respect to pattern with large process fluctuation, without being affected by region where measurement region and region not to be measured overlap with each other.

Abstract: A charged particle radiation apparatus includes a control device that switches between a first charged particle beam and a second charged particle beam, the first charged particle beam being scanned to acquire an image and a waveform signal, the second charged particle beam being scanned over a sample before the scan of the first charged particle beam and used to charge the sample more than the first charged particle beam; wherein the control device is configured to acquire at least one of signal waveform data and image data about a pattern formed on the sample in accordance with a scan performed on the sample by the second charged particle beam, and to stop, when the acquired data has proved to be indicative of a predetermined state, the scan of the second charged particle beam.

Abstract: An object of the present invention is to provide an edge detection technique and equipment which are capable of stably detecting an edge by suppressing the influence of noise even in the case where the image is obtained by charged particle radiation equipment, such as a scanning electron microscope and has a low S/N ratio. More specifically, the present invention is to propose a technique and equipment which are configured to determine a peak position (edge) on the basis of the following two edge extraction techniques. That is, the present invention is to propose a technique and equipment wherein at least two peaks are formed by using, as edge detection techniques, for example, one peak detection technique having a relatively high sensitivity and the other peak detection technique which is relatively less susceptible to the influence of noise than the one peak detection technique, and wherein a position where the peaks coincide with each other is determined as a true peak position (edge position).

Abstract: A pattern matching method for a scanning electron microscope comprises a step of performing pattern matching of only an upper layer pattern between an image (101) in which a pattern consisting of plural layers is represented and a template (104) in which the upper layer pattern of the plural layer pattern is selectively represented, thereby identifying the position of the pattern consisting of the plural layers. Then, information about the upper layer pattern is subtracted from the image (101), thus extracting shape information (108) about the lower layer pattern. Consequently, stable positioning or selective information extraction on a certain layer is enabled regardless of the state of the depths of a pattern formed in three dimensions or of the charge state of a sample.

Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide: a sample unevenness device that stably identifies unevenness formed on a sample, regardless of a pattern formation state or image acquisition conditions; and a computer program. As an aspect to achieve the above object, a device and computer program are proposed that obtain the area of a plurality of regions formed by a profile waveform of a given threshold or lower for a profile formed based on a detection signal obtained by scanning with a charged particle beam with respect to the sample; and determine either or both of that a site corresponding to a region with a relatively large area is a concave portion or that a space portion and a site corresponding to a space with a relatively small area is a convex portion or a line portion.