US 12,112,963 B2 · Defect inspection apparatus and defect inspection program

Abstract

The objective of the present invention is provide a defect inspection apparatus that increases defect position precision and can easily align a coordinate origin offset between a reviewing apparatus and the defect inspection apparatus, even when design data cannot be obtained or it is difficult to sufficiently use the design data. The defect inspection apparatus according to the present invention acquires a wafer swath image necessary for inspection, and uses the swath image to detect defects and calculate a positional deviation amount. During the calculation of the positional deviation amount, a template pattern is acquired from one arbitrary swath image via an image processing unit, and the template pattern and a plurality of swath images of the entire wafer are compared, whereby the positional deviation amount for a position corresponding to the template pattern on the wafer is calculated. For positions at which the template pattern is not present, an interpolated positional deviation amount is calculated by executing an interpolation operation by using the calculated positional deviation amount. A defect position is corrected on the basis of the positional deviation amount and the interpolated positional deviation amount, or by using a positional deviation map in which these positional deviation amounts have been mapped on the entire wafer.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A defect inspection method of acquiring information on candidate positions of defects existing on a wafer on which a plurality of dies are formed, comprising the steps of:

moving a stage on which the wafer is held to acquire a swath image;
extracting images of the plurality of dies from the swath image;
displaying a setting screen for setting a template including a predetermined pattern in the die and coordinates of the predetermined pattern in a predetermined reference coordinate system on a user interface;
executing a comparative inspection on the plurality of die images to obtain information on the candidate position of the defect;
comparing the set coordinates of template and the coordinates of a pattern corresponding to the predetermined pattern included in the plurality of dies to obtain information about the amount of positional deviation with respect to the reference coordinate system for each of the plurality of dies;
and
correcting the information on the candidate position of the defect by using the information about the positional deviation amount;
wherein displaying the setting screen on the user interface includes displaying the images of the dies on the user interface, along with prompting to input an offset with respect to the coordinate of the template;
and
wherein interpolation processing is performed using the positional deviation amount obtained for each of the plurality of dies to obtain the positional deviation amount with respect to the reference coordinate system at an arbitrary position of the swath image.

7 more elements

A defect inspection apparatus which acquires information on candidate positions of defects existing on a wafer on which a plurality of dies are formed, the defect inspection apparatus comprising:

an image acquisition subsystem, which includes a light source that irradiates the wafer, a detector that detects scattered light or reflected light from the wafer, and a controller that controls the operation of each component of the image acquisition subsystem, which acquires a swath image of the wafer and outputs the same as an image signal;
a user interface which displays a setting screen for setting a template including a predetermined pattern in the die and the coordinates of the predetermined pattern in a predetermined reference coordinate system;
and
a computer subsystem configured to
obtain information on the candidate position of the defect by performing a comparative inspection on a plurality of die images extracted from the swath image,
compare the coordinates of the template and the coordinates of a pattern corresponding to the predetermined pattern included in the plurality of dies to obtain information about a positional deviation with respect to the reference coordinate system for each of the plurality of dies, and
correct the position information of the defect candidate by using the information about the positional deviation;
wherein displaying the setting screen on the user interface includes displaying the images of the dies on the user interface, along with prompting to input an offset with respect to the coordinate of the template;
and
wherein interpolation processing is performed using the positional deviation amount obtained for each of the plurality of dies to obtain the positional deviation amount with respect to the reference coordinate system at an arbitrary position of the swath image.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Defect inspection apparatus and defect inspection program

Life of this patent

Defect inspection apparatus and defect inspection program

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims14