Apparatus for inspecting mask
AssigneeHolon Co., Ltd.
InventorsMinoru Ito, Norimichi Anazawa
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An electronic beam transmitting through a mask is detected by means of a detector in which a plurality of elements is aligned in a plurality of lines while an image signal is transferred by the detector synchronously with movement of the mask, and high resolution due to a short wavelength of the electronic beam can be effectively utilized as well as an image signal is transferred at right angles to a line of the detector synchronously with same time detection of pixels in a direction of the line, so that an inspection of a mask with high resolution at high speed would be achieved, and furthermore, it would be achieved to produce an image scanned in a straight line with the extremely high accuracy without zigzag scan when a stage with an easy structure is used.
Claims13
A mask inspection apparatus for performing a transmission type of inspection of a mask, characterized by comprising:
- an electron gun for emitting an electronic beam;
- a lens for enabling the electronic beam emitted from the above electron gun to illuminate the above mask;
- a lens for forming into an image the electronic beam having transmitted through the above mask;
- a detector for detecting an image of the electronic beam formed by the above lens or an image obtained after the above image of the electronic beam has been transduced into light, and for transferring an image signal at right angles to a line, the detector having a plurality of pixels aligned in a direction of the line and a plurality of the lines;
- moving means for moving the above mask;
- and
- controlling means for controlling the above image signal in the detector to be transferred synchronously when the moving means moves the above mask.
A mask inspection apparatus for producing an image of a mask at high speed, characterized by comprising:
- electronic beam emitting means for emitting an electronic beam;
- a lens for enabling the above emitted electronic beam to illuminate the mask;
- a lens for forming into an image the electronic beam having transmitted through the above mask illuminated by the electronic beam or an electronic beam having reversed in the vicinity of a surface of the mask to which a minus voltage is applied;
- a detector for detecting an image formed by the above lens by means of a plurality of pixels aligned in a straight line;
- scanning means for scanning the above mask in a straight line so that the straight line would be at almost right angles to a direction that the above plurality of pixels are aligned in a straight line;
- detecting means for detecting a moving and shifting amount at right angles to a direction of the above scan in scanning in a straight line by the above scanning means;
- and
- correcting means for outputting a controlling signal to a deflector or a moving mechanism of the mask for deflecting an image so as to correct the moving and shifting amount detected by the above detecting means.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.