Surface inspection apparatus and method thereof
US6894302B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignees
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 26, 2001 |
| Grant date | May 17, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 15, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2021/8854
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The invention provides a surface inspection apparatus and a method for inspecting the surface of a sample that are capable of inspecting discriminatingly between the scratch of various configuration and the adhered foreign object that occur on the surface of a work target when the work target (for example, an insulating film on a semiconductor substrate) is subjected to polishing process such as CMP or grinding process in semiconductor manufacturing process or magnetic head manufacturing process. In the invention, the scratch and foreign object that occur on the polished or ground surface of the sample is epi-illuminated and slant-illuminated by use of approximately same light flux, the difference between the scattered light intensity emitted from the shallow scratch and that from the foreign object when epi-illumination is applied and slant illumination is applied to thereby discriminate between the shallow scratch and the foreign object, and the directionality of the scattered light when the epi-illumination is applied and the slant illumination is applied is detected to thereby discriminate between the linear scratch and the foreign object.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.