Patent · US Active

Defect inspecting method, defect inspecting apparatus and inspection machine

US7327871B2 · kind B2 · utility

5Cited by
3References
12Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateJun 22, 2004
Grant dateFeb 5, 2008
Priority date
Expiry dateJun 13, 2026

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06T2207/30148
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

According to a defect inspecting method implemented in a semiconductor circuit inspection machine, a difference in a gray-scale level of a pattern edge image is corrected. A procedure of determining a magnitude of correction is modified in efforts to improve the sensitivity in detecting a defective pattern edge image. A defect inspecting system comprises: an image alignment unit that detects a sub-pixel deviation of two images, which are objects of inspection, from each other; and a magnitude-of-correction determination unit that determines a magnitude of correction, by which the difference in a gray-scale level of a pattern edge image between the two images that is detected by the difference detector is corrected, according to the detected sub-pixel deviation.

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