Wafer inspection system and wafer inspection process using charged particle beam
US6700122B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 4, 2002 |
| Grant date | Mar 2, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 4, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01J2237/2817
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention provides a wafer inspection technique capable of detecting a defect in a wafer on which a pattern having a large step such as a contact hole being subjected to a semiconductor manufacturing process is formed and obtaining information such as the position and kind of a defect such as a hole with open contact failure caused in dry etching process at high speed. A wafer on which a pattern having a large step being subjected to a semiconductor manufacturing process is formed is scanned and irradiated with an electron beam having irradiation energy which is in a range from 100 eV to 1,000 eV, and a defect is detected at high speed from an image of secondary electrons generated. Before the secondary electron image is captured, the wafer is irradiated with an electron beam at high speed while being moved to thereby charge the surface of the wafer with a desired charging voltage. The kind of the defect is determined from the captured secondary electron image, and a distribution of defects in the plane of the wafer is displayed.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.