Patent · US Expired

Semiconductor device inspection system involving superimposition of image data for detecting flaws in the semiconductor device

US5532607A · kind A · utility

17Cited by
9References
2Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJul 18, 1994
Grant dateJul 2, 1996
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 18, 2014

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH01L22/12
  • WIPO fieldSemiconductors
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A semiconductor device inspection system having an improved measurement accuracy and in operability. A semiconductor device is observed from the bottom surface side. First, image data obtained upon image pickup under infrared illumination is converted into first left-to-right-reversed image data corresponding to a left-to-right-reversed image and the first reversed image data is stored. Then an image is obtained under no illumination from very weak light emitted from an abnormal portion when a bias is applied to the semiconductor device. Image data of the very weak light image is then converted into second left-to-right-reversed image data corresponding to a left-to-right-reversed image. The first and second left-to-right-reversed image data are superimposedly added to each other and a superimposed image is displayed with the abnormal portion being superimposed on a chip pattern as seen from the top surface of the semiconductor device.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.