Abstract: The X-ray inspection device includes: an X-ray source with a focal spot size greater than the diameter of a defect for irradiating a sample with X-rays; an X-ray TDI detector arranged near the sample and having long pixels in a direction parallel to the scanning direction of the sample for detecting the X-rays emitted by the X-ray source and passing through the sample as an X-ray transmission image; and a defect-detecting unit for detecting defects based on the X-ray transmission image detected by the X-ray TDI detector.

Abstract: A conventional pattern inspection, which compares an image to be inspected with a reference image and subjects the resulting difference value to the defect detection using the threshold of defect determination, has difficulty in highly-sensitive inspection. Because defects occur only in specific circuit pattern sections, false reports occur in the conventional pattern inspections which are not based on the position. Disclosed are a defect inspection method and a device thereof which perform a pattern inspection by acquiring a GP image in advance, designating a place to be inspected and a threshold map to the GP image on the GUI, setting the identification reference of the defects, next acquiring the image to be inspected, applying the identification reference to the image to be inspected, and identifying the defects with the identification reference, thereby enabling the highly-sensitive inspection.

Abstract: A defect inspection method and device for irradiating a linear region on a surface-patterned sample mounted on a planarly movable table, with illumination light from an inclined direction relative to a direction of a line normal to the sample, next detecting in each of a plurality of directions an image of the light scattered from the sample irradiated with the illumination light, then processing signals obtained by the detection of the images of the scattered light, and thereby detecting a defect present on the sample; wherein the step of detecting the scattered light image in the plural directions is performed through elliptical lenses in which elevation angles of the optical axes thereof are different from each other, within one plane perpendicular to a plane formed by the normal to the surface of the table on which to mount the sample and the longitudinal direction of the linear region irradiated with the irradiation light, the elliptical lenses being formed of circular lenses having left and right portio

Abstract: In defect scanning carried out in a process of manufacturing a semiconductor or the like, a light detection optical system comprising a plurality of photosensors is used for detecting scattered light reflected from a sample. The photosensors used for detecting the quantity of weak background scattered light include a photon counting type photosensor having few pixels whereas the photosensors used for detecting the quantity of strong background scattered light include a photon counting type photosensor having many pixels or an analog photosensor. In addition, nonlinearity caused by the use of the photon counting type photosensor as nonlinearity of detection strength of defect scattered light is corrected in order to correct a detection signal of the defect scattered light.

Abstract: An invention being applied is a defect detecting apparatus that has: an illuminating optical system with a laser light source for irradiating a sample on whose surface a pattern is formed with light; a detecting optical system with a sensor for detecting light generated from the sample illuminated by the illuminating optical system; and a signal processing unit that extracts a defect from an image based on the light detected by the detecting optical system, in which an amplification rate of the sensor is dynamically changed during a time when the light is detected by the detecting optical system.

Abstract: A method of inspecting defects and a device inspecting defects of detecting defects at high sensitivity and high capture efficiency even on various patterns existing on a wafer. In the device of inspecting defects, an illumination optical system is formed of two systems of a coherent illumination of a laser 5 and an incoherent illumination of LEDs 6a, 6b, 6c and 6d, and light paths are divided in a detecting system corresponding to respective illumination light, spatial modulation elements 55a and 55b are arranged to detecting light paths, respectively, scattered light inhibiting sensitivity is shielded by the spatial modulating elements 55a and 55b, scattered light transmitted through the spatial modulation elements 55a and 55b is detected by image sensors 90a and 90b arranged to respective light paths, and images detected by these two image sensors 90a and 90b are subjected to a comparison processing, thereby determining a defect candidate.

Abstract: Proposed is a defect inspection method whereby: illuminating light having a substantially uniform illumination intensity distribution in one direction of a sample surface irradiated on the sample surface; multiple scattered light components, which are output in multiple independent directions, are detected among the scattered light from the sample surface and multiple corresponding scattered light detection signals are obtained; at least one of the multiple scattered light detection signals is processed and the presence of defects is determined; at least one of the multiple scattered light detection signals that correspond to each of the points determined by the processing as a defect is processed and the dimensions of the defect are determined; and the position and dimensions of the defect on the sample surface, at each of the points determined as a defect, are displayed.

Abstract: This invention relates to a method for performing an analysis of defective material and the refractive index, and a three-dimensional analysis of very small pattern shapes including the steps of imaging by a scanning electron microscope to acquire an image of the position of a defect under observation using information of inspection results obtained by an optical inspection device, creating a model of the defect by using the acquired image of the defect under observation, calculating the values detected by the detector when reflected and scattered light emitted from a defect model is received by the detector when light is irradiated onto the defect model thus created, comparing the detection values thus calculated and the values detected by the detector, which has received light actually reflected and scattered from the sample, to obtain information relating to the height of the defect under observation, the material, or the refractive index.

Abstract: Disclosed is a defect inspection method which makes it possible to scan the entire surface of a sample and detect minute defects without causing thermal damage to the sample. A defect inspection method in which a pulse laser emitted from a light source is subjected to pulse division and irradiated on the surface of a sample which moves in one direction while the divided-pulse pulse laser is rotated, reflection light from the sample irradiated by the divided-pulse pulse laser is detected, the signal of the detected reflection light is processed to detect defects on the sample, and information regarding a detected defect is output to a display screen, wherein the barycentric position of the light intensity of the divided-pulse pulse laser is monitored and adjusted.

Abstract: A defect inspecting method is provided which comprises a pre-scan defect inspecting process including a pre-scan irradiating step for casting irradiation light onto the surface of a sample, a pre-scan detecting step for detecting the scattered lights, and a pre-scan defect information collecting step for obtaining information on preselected defects present on the sample surface on the basis of the scattered lights; a near-field defect inspecting process including a near-field irradiating step in which the distance between the sample surface and a near-field head is adjusted so that the sample surface is irradiated, a near-field detecting step for detecting near-field light response, and a near-field defect information collecting step for obtaining information on the preselected defects on the basis of the near-field light response; and a merging process for inspecting defects present on the sample surface by merging the pieces of information on the preselected defects.

Abstract: In order to enable inspections to be conducted at a sampling rate higher than the pulse oscillation frequency of a pulsed laser beam emitted from a laser light source, without damaging samples, a defect inspection method is disclosed, wherein: a single pulse of a pulsed laser beam emitted from the laser light source is split into a plurality of pulses; a sample is irradiated with this pulse-split pulsed laser beam; scattered light produced by the sample due to the irradiation is focused and detected; and defects on the sample are detected by using information obtained by focusing and detecting the scattered light from the sample. Said defect inspection method is configured such that the splitting a single pulse of the pulsed laser beam into a plurality of pulses is controlled in such a manner that the peak values of the split pulses are substantially uniform.

Abstract: An optical inspection apparatus is provided which suppresses the influence of quantum noise including: light irradiator which irradiates a sample with light; reference light emitter which emits reference light; light interference unit which generates interfering light through interference between transmitted light, scattered light, or reflected light from the sample irradiated with light by the light irradiator, and the reference light emitted by the reference light emitter; light detector which detects the interfering light generated by the light interference unit; defect identifier which identifies the presence or absence of a defect based on a detection signal obtained by the light detector detecting the interfering light; and light convertor which converts at least the state of the transmitted, scattered, or reflected light from the sample, the state of the reference light emitted by the reference light emitter, or the state of the interfering light generated by the light interference unit.

Abstract: A defect inspection method includes an illumination light adjustment step of adjusting light emitted from a light source, an illumination intensity distribution control step of forming light flux obtained in the illumination light adjustment step into desired illumination intensity distribution, a sample scanning step of displacing a sample in a direction substantially perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the illumination intensity distribution, a scattered light detection step of counting the number of photons of scattered light emitted from plural small areas in an area irradiated with illumination light to produce plural scattered light detection signals corresponding to the plural small areas, a defect judgment step of processing the plural scattered light detection signals to judge presence of a defect, a defect dimension judgment step of judging dimensions of the defect in each place in which the defect is judged to be present and a display step of displaying a position on sample surface and the

Abstract: A defect inspection method wherein illumination light having a substantially uniform illumination intensity distribution in a certain direction on the surface of a specimen is radiated onto the surface of the specimen; wherein multiple components of those scattered light beams from the surface of the specimen which are emitted mutually different directions are detected, thereby obtaining corresponding multiple scattered light beam detection signals; wherein the multiple scattered light beam detection signals is subjected to processing, thereby determining the presence of defects; wherein the corresponding multiple scattered light detecting signals is processed with respect to all of the spots determined to be defective by the processing, thereby determining the sizes of defects; and wherein the defect locations on the specimen and the defect sizes are displayed with respect to all of the spots determined to be defective by the processing.

Abstract: A defect inspection method includes: illuminating an area on surface of a specimen as a test object under a specified illumination condition; scanning a specimen to translate and rotate the specimen; detecting scattering lights to separate each of scattering lights scattered in different directions from the illuminated area on the specimen into pixels to be detected according to a scan direction at the scanning a specimen and a direction approximately orthogonal to the scan direction; and processing to perform an addition process on each of scattering lights that are detected at the step and scatter approximately in the same direction from approximately the same area of the specimen, determine presence or absence of a defect based on scattering light treated by the addition process, and compute a size of the determined defect using at least one of the scattering lights corresponding to the determined defect.

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: To process a signal from a plurality of detectors without being affected by a variation in the height of a substrate, and to detect more minute defects on the substrate, a defect inspection device is provided with a photoelectric converter having a plurality of rows of optical sensor arrays in each of first and second light-collecting/detecting unit and a processing unit for processing a detection signal from the first and the second light-collecting/detecting unit to determine the extent to which the positions of the focal points of the first and the second light-collecting/detecting unit are misaligned with respect to the surface of a test specimen, and processing the detection signal to correct a misalignment between the first and the second light-collecting/detecting unit, and the corrected detection signal outputted from the first and the second light-collecting/detecting unit are combined together to detect the defects on the test specimen.

Abstract: There is provided a defect inspection method including the steps of: acquiring image data sets of a sample under a plurality of imaging conditions; storing a plurality of image data sets acquired under the plurality of imaging conditions in an image storage unit; acquiring a defect candidate from each of the plurality of image data sets; cutting out, from the image data sets acquired under at least two imaging conditions and stored in the image storage unit, a partial images each including a position of the defect candidate detected in any of the plurality of image data sets and the periphery of the defect candidate position; and integrating the partial images acquired under at least two imaging conditions corresponding to the defect candidates, thereby classifying the defect candidates.

Abstract: In a defect inspection method and an apparatus of the same, for enabling to conduct an inspection of fine defects without applying thermal damages on a sample, the following steps are conducted: mounting a sample on a rotatable table to rotate; irradiating a pulse laser emitting from a laser light source upon the sample rotating; detecting a reflected light from the sample, upon which the pulse laser is irradiated; detecting the reflected light from the sample detected; and detecting a defect on the sample through processing of a signal obtained through the detection, wherein irradiation of the pulse laser emitting from the laser light source upon the sample rotating is conducted by dividing the one pulse emitted from the laser light source into plural numbers of pulses, and irradiating each of the divided pulse lasers upon each of separate positions on the sample, respectively.

Abstract: Disclosed are a method and an apparatus for observing defects by using an SEM, wherein, in order to observe defects on a wafer at high speed and high sensitivity, positional information of defects on a sample, which has been optically inspected and detected by other inspecting apparatus, and information of the conditions of the optical inspection having been performed by other inspecting apparatus are obtained, and optically detecting the defects on the sample placed on a table, on the basis of the thus obtained information, and on the basis of the detected positional information of the defect on the sample placed on the table, the positional information of the defect having been inspected and detected by other inspecting apparatus is corrected, then, the defects on the sample placed on the table are observed by the SEM using the thus corrected positional information of the defects.