Inspection method and inspection apparatus using electron beam

An inspection method using an electron beam comprising the steps of:

• irradiating, based on previously prepared information concerning a defect position on the surface of a sample, the defect and its vicinity with an electron beam a plurality of times at predetermined intervals;
• detecting an electron signal secondarily generated from the sample surface by the electron beam;
• imaging the electron signal detected by the pre-specified n-th or later electron beam irradiation;
• and
• measuring the resistance or a leakage amount of a defective portion of the sample surface in accordance with the degree of charge relaxation by monitoring a charge relaxation state of the sample surface based on the electron beam image information.

An inspection method using an electron beam comprising the steps of:

• scanning an electron beam on a sample while continuously moving a sample table having the sample placed thereon;
• detecting an electron signal secondarily generated from the sample surface by the electron beam;
• imaging the electron signal;
• specifying a defective portion by comparing electron beam images having the same pattern with each other;
• generating defect position information containing at least position information among attribution information of the defective portion;
• irradiating the defect and its vicinity with the electron beam a plurality of times at predetermined intervals based on the defect position information;
• detecting an electron signal secondarily generated from the sample surface by the electron beam;
• imaging an electron signal detected by pre-specified n-th or later electron beam irradiation;
• and measuring the resistance or a leakage amount of the defective portion on the sample surface depending on the degree of charge relaxation by monitoring the charge relaxation state on the sample surface in accordance with the electron beam image information.

An inspection apparatus using an electron beam comprising:

• a sample table for sample placement;
• a stage mechanism unit for continuously moving the sample table;
• an electron source;
• an electron optics system for applying and scanning an electron beam from the electron source on the sample;
• a detector for detecting an electron signal secondarily generated from the sample surface by the electron beam;
• an image processing unit for imaging the electron signal and specifying a defective portion by comparing electron beam images having substantially the same pattern with each other;
• and a defect position information generating unit for generating defect position information including at least position information among attribute information of the defective position, wherein
• the electron optics system has further a function to irradiate, based on the defect position information, a defect and its vicinity with the electron beam at predetermined intervals a plurality of times, the detector detects the electron signal secondarily generated from the sample surface by the electron beam, the image processing unit has a function to image the electron signal detected by the pre-specified n-th or later electron beam irradiation, and the inspection apparatus further comprises a resistance/leakage amount measurement part for monitoring the charge relaxation state of the sample surface according to the electron beam image information and measuring the resistance or a leakage amount of the defective portion on the sample surface depending on the degree of charge relaxation.