Patent · US Active

Method for inspecting defects, inspected wafer or semiconductor device manufactured using the same, method for quality control of wafers or semiconductor devices and defect inspecting apparatus

US9019498B2 · kind B2 · utility

3Cited by
6References
20Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateNov 19, 2010
Grant dateApr 28, 2015
Priority date
Expiry dateOct 28, 2031

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH01L2924/0002
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

Light from a light source device is polarized through a polarizer and is caused to impinge obliquely onto an object to be inspected. The resulting scattered light is received by a CCD imaging device having an element for separating scattered polarized light disposed in a dark field. Component light intensities are worked out for an obtained P-polarized component image and an obtained S-polarized component image and a polarization direction is determined as a ratio of them. The component light intensities and the polarization directions are determined from images obtained by imaging of the light scattering entities in a state where static stress is not applied to the object to the inspected and in a state where static load is applied thereto so as to generate tensional stress on the side irradiated by light. The component light intensities and the polarization directions are compared with predetermined threshold values.

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