Electron beam inspection system and method

US5502306A · kind A · utility

Assignee

• KLA INSTRUMENTS CORPORATION · US

Inventors

• Dan Meisburger · San Jose, US
• Alan D. Brodie · Palo Alto, US
• Curt H. Chadwick · Los Altos, US
• Anil Desai · San Jose, US
• Hans-Peter Dohse · Waiblingen, DE
• Dennis G. Emge · San Jose, US
• John D. Greene · Santa Cruz, US
• Ralph Johnson · Los Gatos, US
• Ming-Yie Ling · Sunnyvale, US
• John McMurtry · Menlo Park, US
• Barry G. Becker · Mountain View, US
• Ray Paul · Palo Alto, US
• Mike Robinson · San Jose, US
• Richard R. Simmons · Los Altos, US
• David Eason Smith · San Mateo, US
• John S. Taylor · Livermore, US
• Lee H. Veneklasen · Castro Valley, US
• Dean Walters · Edmonds, US
• Paul Wieczorek · San Jose, US
• Sam An Wong · Orange, US
• April Dutta · Milpitas, US
• Surendra Lele · Santa Clara, US
• Kirkwood Rough · San Jose, US
• Henry Pearce-Percy · Los Gatos, US
• Jack Jau · Los Altos Hills, US
• Chun-Ching Lin · Baoshan, TW
• Hoi T. Nguyen · Milpitas, US
• Yen-Jen Oyang · Cupertino, US
• Timothy L. Hutcheson · Los Gatos, US
• David J. Clark · Atherton, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 17, 1994
• Grant date: Mar 26, 1996
• Expiry date: Mar 17, 2014

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H01J2237/30438
• WIPO field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

There is disclosed numerous embodiments of a method and apparatus for a particle scanning system and an automatic inspection system. In each of these a particle beam is directed at the surface of a substrate for scanning that substrate. Also included are a selection of detectors to detect at least one of the secondary particles, back-scattered particles and transmitted particles from the substrate. The substrate is mounted on an x-y stage to provide it with at least one degree of freedom while the substrate is being scanned by the/particle beam. The substrate is also subjected to an electric field on it's surface to accelerate the secondary particles. The system also has the capability to accurately measure the position of the substrate with respect to the charged particle beam. Additionally, there is an optical alignment means for initially aligning the substrate beneath the,particle beam means. To function most efficiently there is also a vacuum means for evacuating and repressurizing a chamber containing the substrate. The vacuum means can be used to hold one substrate at vacuum while a second one is being loaded/unloaded, evacuated or repressurized. Alternately, the vacuum mean…