System and method for inspecting patterned devices having microscopic conductors
US7391510B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 26, 2006 |
| Grant date | Jun 24, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 2, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N21/956
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An inspection system operative to inspect patterned devices having microscopic conductors, the system comprising a camera viewing a location of a candidate defect on a patterned substrate and acquiring thereat at least one image of the location, the camera defining an optical axis, the at least one image being illuminated by at least one illumination offset from the optical axis, the illumination being supplied along at least first and second axes of illumination that are mutually non-parallel in a plane corresponding to a plane of the patterned substrate, wherein a response to the illumination supplied along the first axis is differentiable from a response to the illumination supplied along the second axis and a defect classifier operative to receive the at least one image and to distinguish therewithin a candidate defect caused by a cut or a candidate defect caused by excess material, from one another and/or from other types of candidate defects.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.