Abstract: To realize simplification of a process of forming hollow portions in a solid-state imaging apparatus, a plurality of light receiving portions is formed on a semiconductor substrate, and color filter layers as hollow portion forming layers are formed above the semiconductor substrate (FIG. 1A). A sealable layer for opening boundary portions of the color filter layers is formed on the color filter layers (FIG. 1B). Hollow portions are formed on side surfaces of the color filter layer by etching using the sealable layer as a mask (FIG. 1C). The sealable layer is heated and softened to connect mutually adjacent sealable layers to form a sealing layer for sealing the aperture regions of the hollow portions (FIG. 1D).

Abstract: When forming a hollow portion between each color filter, in order to realize the formation of the hollow portions with a narrower width, a plurality of light receiving portions are formed on the upper surface of a semiconductor substrate, a plurality of color filters corresponding to each of the light receiving portions are formed above the semiconductor substrate, a photoresist is formed on each color filter, side walls are formed on the side surfaces of the photoresist, and a hollow portion is formed between each color filter by performing etching using at least the side walls as a mask.

Abstract: A color filter 5 is formed above a semiconductor substrate SB, in an area above a predetermined light receiving portion among a plurality of light receiving portions 1. A sacrificial layer 8 is formed on upper and side of the first color filter 5. Color filters 6 and 7 are formed above the semiconductor substrate SB, in areas above other light receiving portions adjacent to the predetermined light receiving portion, to expose at least part of the upper surface area of the first color filter 5 on the sacrificial layer 8. The sacrificial layer 8 is etched to remove the upper and side areas of the color filter 5 on the sacrificial layer 8 to form hollow portions 9 between the color filter 5 and the color filter 6 and between the color filter 5 and the color filter 7.

Abstract: The present invention provides a solid-state imaging apparatus which has hollow portions provided around each of color filters and achieves the prevention of the peeling of each of the color filters. The solid-state imaging apparatus having a plurality of light receiving portions provided on a semiconductor substrate includes: a plurality of color filters arranged correspondingly to each of the plurality of light receiving portions; and hollow portions formed around each of the plurality of color filters, wherein each of the color filters has one peripheral part contacting with adjacent one or more of the color filters.

Abstract: A double cone stylus includes a shank and a double cone-shaped tip attached to the tip end of the shank, the double cone-shaped tip being a rotationally symmetric body obtained by rotating a triangle having a base extending along the shank around the shank as the symmetric rotation axis. The double cone stylus allows the shape of an inner wall surface of a measurement object with the inner wall surface retracted from an upper reference plane to be measured from above.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a solid-state image sensor includes preparing a structure including a photoelectric converter formed in an image sensing region and a pad electrode formed in a pad region, forming a first organic film including a first organic portion arranged in the image sensing region of the structure in the image sensing region and the pad region, forming a color filter layer on the first organic portion, forming a second organic film in the image sensing region and the pad region, forming an inorganic film in the image sensing region and the pad region, and etching the inorganic film, the second organic film, and the first organic film so as to form an opening which communicates with the pad electrode.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for reviewing defects of a semiconductor device is provided which involves detecting a defect on a SEM image taken at low magnification, and reviewing the defect on a SEM image taken at high magnification, and which can review a lot of defects in a short period of time thereby to improve the efficiency of defect review. In the present invention, the method for reviewing defects of a semiconductor device includes the steps of obtaining an image including a defect on the semiconductor device detected by a detection device by use of a scanning electron microscope at a first magnification, making a reference image from the image including the defect obtained at the first magnification, detecting the defect by comparing the image including the defect obtained at the first magnification to the reference image made from the image including the defect at the first magnification, and taking an image of the detected defect at a second magnification that is larger than the first magnification.

Abstract: In apparatuses for automatically acquiring and also for automatically classifying images of defects present on a sample such as a semiconductor wafer, a classifying system is provided which are capable of readily accepting even such a case that a large number of classification classes are produced based upon a request issued by a user, and also even such a case that a basis of the classification class is changed in a high frequency. When the user defines the classification classes, a device for designating attributes owned by the respective classification classes is provided. The classifying system automatically changes a connecting mode between an internally-provided rule-based classifier and an example-based classifier, so that such a classifying system which is fitted to the classification basis of the user is automatically constructed.

Abstract: An image measurement apparatus includes: an imager section, an obtainment section, an outline detection section, a setting section, and a measurement section. The imager section takes an image of a subject to be measured. The obtainment section obtains a taken image of the subject taken by the imager section. The outline detection section detects, by a Hough transformation, outline of a graphic included in the image obtained by the obtainment section. The setting section sets an edge detection tool on the outline detected by the outline detection section. The measurement section measures, by the edge detection tool set by the setting section, graphic information concerning the graphic.

Abstract: A method of generating photomask data for fabricating a microlens array, the photomask having a microlens pattern including light-shielding portions and non-light-shielding portions, a rectangular region including a surrounding region having four sides of the rectangular region as outer edges and a primary region having boundaries that are inner edges of the surrounding region, the surrounding region being configured by four strip regions each including one of the four sides as its part, and a width between each outer edge and each corresponding inner edge being not more than 1/2 of a wavelength of exposure light. The method includes determining a layout of light-shielding portions and non-light-shielding portions in the surrounding region so that a density of light-shielding portions is set to fall within a range from 0% to 15%.

Abstract: A photoelectric conversion apparatus at least includes an insulating film, a plurality of high-refractive-index members provided so as to correspond respectively to individual photoelectric conversion portions, being surrounded by the insulating film and having a refractive index higher than the refractive index of the insulating film, and a high-refractive-index film provided on the insulating film so as to connect the plurality of high-refractive-index members to one another and having a refractive index higher than the refractive index of the insulating film, and lens portions lying next to each other from among a plurality of lens portions border each other.

Abstract: A method of fabricating a photomask used to form a lens. The method includes the steps of generating mask pattern data for each of a plurality of grid cells constituting a mask pattern for the lens, and fabricating the photomask based on the mask pattern data. The step of generating the mask pattern data includes acquiring data which represents a transmitted light distribution required for the photomask to fabricate the lens, in which the transmitted light distribution includes a quantity of transmitted light in each of the plurality of grid cells, and determining whether to place a shield on each of the plurality of grid cells by binarizing the quantity of transmitted light in each of the plurality of grid cells in order of increasing or decreasing distance from a center of the mask pattern using an error diffusion method.

Abstract: In apparatuses for automatically acquiring and also for automatically classifying images of defects present on a sample such as a semiconductor wafer, a classifying system is provided which are capable of readily accepting even such a case that a large number of classification classes are produced based upon a request issued by a user, and also even such a case that a basis of the classification class is changed in a high frequency. When the user defines the classification classes, a device for designating attributes owned by the respective classification classes is provided. The classifying system automatically changes a connecting mode between an internally-provided rule-based classifier and an example-based classifier, so that such a classifying system which is fitted to the classification basis of the user is automatically constructed.

Abstract: In apparatuses for automatically acquiring and also for automatically classifying images of defects present on a sample such as a semiconductor wafer, a classifying system is provided which are capable of readily accepting even such a case that a large number of classification classes are produced based upon a request issued by a user, and also even such a case that a basis of the classification class is changed in a high frequency. When the user defines the classification classes, a device for designating attributes owned by the respective classification classes is provided. The classifying system automatically changes a connecting mode between an internally-provided rule-based classifier and an example-based classifier, so that such a classifying system which is fitted to the classification basis of the user is automatically constructed.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a microlens array includes forming a resist film on a structure including a plurality of light-receiving portions, exposing the resist film using a photomask in which a plurality of lens patterns for forming a plurality of microlenses are arranged, forming a resist pattern by developing the exposed resist film, and forming the plurality of microlens by annealing the resist pattern, wherein the plurality of lens patterns include lens patterns having exposure light transmittance distributions different from each other.

Abstract: Disclosed in an image measuring apparatus including an image capture unit which captured an image of a measurement subject, an import unit which imports the image of the measurement subject which is captured by the image capture unit, a binarization unit which binarizes the image which is imported by the import unit, an contour detection unit which recognizes graphic information in the image which is binarized by the binarization unit and detects an contour of the graphic information, A corner detection unit which detects corners of the graphic information based on the contour which is detected by the contour detection unit, a setting unit which respectively sets edge detection tools on lines of the contour including the corners detected by the corner detection unit and a measurement unit which measures the graphic information by the edge detection tools which are set by the setting unit.

Abstract: In apparatuses for automatically acquiring and also for automatically classifying images of defects present on a sample such as a semiconductor wafer, a classifying system is provided which are capable of readily accepting even such a case that a large number of classification classes are produced based upon a request issued by a user, and also even such a case that a basis of the classification class is changed in a high frequency. When the user defines the classification classes, a device for designating attributes owned by the respective classification classes is provided. The classifying system automatically changes a connecting mode between an internally-provided rule-based classifier and an example-based classifier, so that such a classifying system which is fitted to the classification basis of the user is automatically constructed.

Abstract: An image measuring apparatus includes an image capturing controller, a location obtainer, a combined-image generator, an error calculator, an image measurer, and a corrector. The image capturing controller causes relative movements between a measured object and an image capturer. The location obtainer acquires a location at which the image capturer captures an image of the measured object. The combined-image generator forms a combined image by superposing the images captured by the image capturing controller. The error calculator calculates, for each of combining sections, an error that occurs at a combining section when the combined image is formed, based on the location acquired by the location obtainer. The image measurer measures the measured object, based on the number of pixels in the combined image. The corrector corrects measurement results of the image measurer, based on the error for each of the combining sections calculated by the error calculator.

Abstract: In apparatuses for automatically acquiring and also for automatically classifying images of defects present on a sample such as a semiconductor wafer, a classifying system is provided which are capable of readily accepting even such a case that a large number of classification classes are produced based upon a request issued by a user, and also even such a case that a basis of the classification class is changed in a high frequency. When the user defines the classification classes, a device for designating attributes owned by the respective classification classes is provided. The classifying system automatically changes a connecting mode between an internally-provided rule-based classifier and an example-based classifier, so that such a classifying system which is fitted to the classification basis of the user is automatically constructed.

Abstract: A method of fabricating a photomask used to form a lens. The method includes the steps of generating mask pattern data for each of a plurality of grid cells constituting a mask pattern for the lens, and fabricating the photomask based on the mask pattern data. The step of generating the mask pattern data includes acquiring data which represents a transmitted light distribution required for the photomask to fabricate the lens, in which the transmitted light distribution includes a quantity of transmitted light in each of the plurality of grid cells, and determining whether to place a shield on each of the plurality of grid cells by binarizing the quantity of transmitted light in each of the plurality of grid cells in order of increasing or decreasing distance from a center of the mask pattern using an error diffusion method.