Abstract: Information of a product for an information seal to be adhered to is printed on an information side of the information seal. An adhesive for adhering the information seal to the product is applied to a pattern side of the information seal, and a conduction pattern corresponding to a serial number is further formed on the pattern side. The conduction pattern includes a required number of terminals opposed to each other, and lines interconnecting those of the opposed terminals required to indicate the serial number indicated on the information side.

Abstract: The present invention provides techniques, including a method and system, for inspecting for defects in a circuit pattern on a semi-conductor material. One specific embodiment provides a trial inspection threshold setup method, where the initial threshold is modified after a defect analysis of trial inspection stored data. The modified threshold is then used as the threshold in actual inspection.

Abstract: Information of a product for an information seal to be adhered to is printed on an information side of the information seal. An adhesive for adhering the information seal to the product is applied to a pattern side of the information seal, and a conduction pattern corresponding to a serial number is further formed on the pattern side. The conduction pattern includes a required number of terminals opposed to each other, and lines interconnecting those of the opposed terminals required to indicate the serial number indicated on the information side.

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 an 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 of the secondary electrons and the reflected electrons emanated from the object in response to the irradiation of the electron beam are decelerated.

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 to 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: A pattern inspection method in which an image can be detected without an image detection error due to an adverse effect to be given by such factors as ions implanted in a wafer, pattern connection/no-connection, and pattern edge formation. A digital image of an object substrate is attained through microscopic observation thereof, the attained digital image is examined to detect defects while masking a region pre-registered in terms of coordinates or while masking a pattern meeting a pre-registered pattern, and an image of each of the defects thus detected is displayed. Further, each of the defects detected using the digital image attained through microscopic observation is checked to judge whether its feature meets a pre-registered feature or not. Defects having a feature that meets the pre-registered feature are so displayed that they can be turned/off, or they are so displayed as to be distinguishable from the other defects.

Abstract: A pattern inspection method in which an image can be detected without an image detection error due to an adverse effect to be given by such factors as ions implanted in a wafer, pattern connection/no-connection, and pattern edge formation. A digital image of an object substrate is attained through microscopic observation thereof, the attained digital image is examined to detect defects while masking a region pre-registered in terms of coordinates or while masking a pattern meeting a pre-registered pattern, and an image of each of the defects thus detected is displayed. Further, each of the defects detected using the digital image attained through microscopic observation is checked to judge whether its feature meets a pre-registered feature or not. Defects having a feature that meets the pre-registered feature are so displayed that they can be turned/off, or they are so displayed as to be distinguishable from the other defects.

Abstract: A convergent charged particle beam apparatus and method includes an electron beam image observation arrangement which observes an electron beam image of a surface of a specimen mounted on a movable stage inside of a vacuum chamber when an electron beam converged by an electron optical system is irradiated and scanned over the surface of the specimen and detecting secondary charged particles produced from the specimen so as to provide electron image data of the surface. A height detector optically detects a surface height of the specimen by irradiating light from outside of the vacuum chamber onto the specimen and detecting reflected light from the specimen with a detector disposed outside of the vacuum chamber. A controller controls a focal point of the converged and focused electron beam in accordance with the output from the height detector, and a display displays the electron image of the surface of the specimen.

Abstract: An electron beam apparatus includes a movable table which mounts a specimen, an electron optical system including an electron beam source which emits electron beams, an element for deflecting the emitted electron beams, an objective lens for converging and irradiating the deflected electron beams onto the specimen mounted on the table, and a detector for detecting a secondary electron emanated from the specimen by the irradiation of the electron beams. A surface height detection unit is provided which optically detects a height of a surface of the specimen by projecting light onto the surface of the specimen from an oblique direction to the surface and detecting light reflected from the specimen. A focus controller is provided for focusing the electron beam onto the surface of the specimen by controlling a position of the table in a height direction in accordance with the height information from the surface height detection unit.

Abstract: The present invention provides techniques, including a method and system, for inspecting for defects in a circuit pattern on a semi-conductor material. One specific embodiment provides a trial inspection threshold setup method, where the initial threshold is modified after a defect analysis of trial inspection stored data. The modified threshold is then used as the threshold in actual inspection.

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: An inspection method and apparatus which controls an acceleration voltage of an electron beam, irradiates the electron beam to an object to be inspected mounted on a stage which is continuously moving at least in one direction, detects at least one of a secondary electron and a reflected electron emanated from the object by the irradiating, obtains an image of the object from the detected electron by using positional information of the stage, conducts inspection or measurement of the object using the image obtained, and outputs a result of the inspection or the measurement through a network system which is connected to a computer.

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: 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: A method and apparatus to enable observation of an electron beam image of a specimen surface with an electron beam being always in focus in a convergent charged particle beam apparatus. Using an optical height detection system which does not cause interference with the electron beam, a specimen surface height in the vicinity of an electron beam irradiating point on the specimen surface is detected, and the specimen surface height is adjusted while the electron beam image of the specimen surface is being observed. The optical height detection system is calibrated using a calibration specimen having known step pattern features, and a surface height of an object under inspection is calculated accordingly.

Abstract: An electron beam apparatus and method for at least obtaining an image of a specimen. The apparatus includes an electron optical system having an electron beam source, an element for deflecting electron beams emitted from the electron beam source, an objective lens for converting and irradiating electron beams deflected by the deflection element onto the specimen and a detector for detecting a secondary electron emanated from the specimen by irradiation of the electron beams.

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: In order to inspect a substance to be detected such as a foreign substance in accordance with the condition of the surface of a sample to be inspected such as a semiconductor substrate manufactured in various manufacturing processes under a suitable inspection condition, this method includes the steps of: inspecting a substance to be detected on a sample to be inspected under a plurality inspection conditions, which are previously set, as a single unit to detect at least the data of a detected substance for each of the plurality of inspection conditions; checking the data of the detected substance for the respective inspection conditions against each other to make check data; analyzing the detected substance based on the check data of the detected substance to classify the detected substance; adding the data of classified detected substance to the coordinate data of the detected substance for the respective inspection conditions to make data relating to the classified detected substance for the respective ins

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 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.