# US 2014/0153814 A1 · Method and System for Mixed Mode Wafer Inspection > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2014/0153814 A1 - Document ID: US20140153814A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 14/076,350 - Filed: 2013-11-11 - Published: 2014-06-05 - Earliest claimed: 2012-11-12 - Assignees: KLA-Tencor Corporation - Applicants: KLA-Tencor Corporation - Inventors: Jason Z. Lin; Allen Park; Ellis Chang; Richard Wallingford; Songnian Rong; Chetana Bhaskar - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140153814A1 ## CPC - G06T 7/001: {using an image reference approach} - G06T 2207/30148: Semiconductor; IC; Wafer - G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL ## Abstract Mixed-mode includes receiving inspection results including one or more images of a selected region of the wafer, the one or more images include one or more wafer die including a set of repeating blocks, the set of repeating blocks a set of repeating cells. In addition, mixed-mode inspection includes adjusting a pixel size of the one or more images to map each cell, block and die to an integer number of pixels. Further, mixed-mode inspection includes comparing a first wafer die to a second wafer die to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in the first or second wafer die, comparing a first block to a second block to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in the first or second blocks and comparing a first cell to a second cell to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in the first or second cells. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for providing mixed mode wafer inspection comprising: receiving one or more inspection results of a wafer, wherein the one or more inspection results include one or more images of a selected region of the wafer, the one or more images including one or more wafer die, the one or more wafer die including a set of repeating blocks, one or more of the set of repeating blocks, wherein the cells of each block are non-periodic or unresolvable; adjusting a pixel size of the one or more images in order to map each block to an integer number of pixels; adjusting a pixel size of the one or more images in order to map each die to an integer number of pixels; comparing a first wafer die to at least a second wafer die in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first wafer die and the at least a second wafer die; and comparing a first block to at least a second block in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first block and the at least a second block. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving one or more inspection results comprises: receiving one or more inspection results from an inspection system. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2, wherein the inspection system comprises: at least one of an optical inspection system and an electron beam inspection system. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the comparing a first wafer die to at least a second wafer die in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first wafer die and the at least a second wafer die comprises: calculating a difference between a set of pixel values of the first wafer die and a corresponding set of pixel values of the least a second wafer die in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first wafer die and the at least a second wafer die. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the comparing a first block to at least a second block in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first block and the at least a second block comprises: calculating a difference between a set of pixel values of the first block and a corresponding set of pixel values of the least a second block in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first block and the at least a second block. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: prior to the comparison of the first wafer die to the at least a second wafer die, aligning one or more repeating patterns of the first wafer die with respect to the at least a second wafer die. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the aligning one or more repeating patterns of the first wafer die with respect to the at least a second wafer die comprises: performing a run-time alignment process on the one or more repeating patterns of the first wafer die with respect to the at least a second wafer die. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the comparing a first wafer die to at least a second wafer die in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first wafer die and the at least a second wafer die comprises: generating a reference die image by combining three or more die images of the inspection results; and calculating a difference between a set of pixel values of the generated reference die image and a corresponding set of pixel values of at least one of the first die and the at least a second die in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first wafer die and the at least a second wafer die. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the comparing a first block to at least a second block in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first block and the at least a second block comprises: generating a reference block image by combining three or more block images of the inspection results; and calculating a difference between a set of pixel values of the generated reference block image and a corresponding set of pixel values of the first block and the at least a second block in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first wafer block and the at least a second wafer block. ### Claim 10 A method for providing mixed mode wafer inspection comprising: receiving one or more inspection results of a wafer, wherein the one or more inspection results include one or more images of a selected region of the wafer, the one or more images including one or more wafer die, the one or more wafer die including a set of repeating blocks, one or more of the set of repeating blocks including a set of repeating cells; adjusting a pixel size of the one or more images in order to map each cell to substantially an integer number of pixels; adjusting a pixel size of the one or more images in order to map each block to substantially an integer number of pixels; adjusting a pixel size of the one or more images in order to map each die to an integer number of pixels; comparing a first wafer die to at least a second wafer die in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first wafer die and the at least a second wafer die; comparing a first block to at least a second block in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first block and the at least a second block; and comparing a first cell to at least a second cell in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first cell and the at least a second cell. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the receiving one or more inspection results comprises: receiving one or more inspection results from an inspection system. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the inspection system comprises: at least one of an optical inspection system and an electron beam inspection system. ### Claim 13 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the comparing a first wafer die to at least a second wafer die in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first wafer die and the at least a second wafer die comprises: calculating a difference between a set of pixel values of the first wafer die and a corresponding set of pixel values of the least a second wafer die in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first wafer die and the at least a second wafer die. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the comparing a first block to at least a second block in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first block and the at least a second block comprises: calculating a difference between a set of pixel values of the first block and a corresponding set of pixel values of the least a second block in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first block and the at least a second block. ### Claim 15 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the comparing a first cell to at least a second cell in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first cell and the at least a second cell comprises: calculating a difference between a set of pixel values of the first cell and a corresponding set of pixel values of the least a second cell in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first block and the at least a second block. ### Claim 16 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, further comprising: prior to the comparison of the first wafer die to the at least a second wafer die, aligning one or more repeating patterns of the first wafer die with respect to the at least a second wafer die. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, wherein the aligning one or more repeating patterns of the first wafer die with respect to the at least a second wafer die comprises: performing a run-time alignment process on the one or more repeating patterns of the first wafer die with respect to the at least a second wafer die. ### Claim 18 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the comparing a first wafer die to at least a second wafer die in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first wafer die and the at least a second wafer die comprises: generating a reference die image by combining three or more die images of the inspection results; calculating a difference between a set of pixel values of the generated reference die image and a corresponding set of pixel values of at least one of the first die and the at least a second die in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first wafer die and the at least a second wafer die. ### Claim 19 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the comparing a first block to at least a second block in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first block and the at least a second block comprises: generating a reference block image by combining three or more block images of the inspection results; calculating a difference between a set of pixel values of the generated reference block image and a corresponding set of pixel values of the first block and the at least a second block in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first block and the at least a second block. ### Claim 20 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the comparing a first cell to at least a second cell in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first cell and the at least a second cell comprises: generating a reference cell image by combining three or more cell images of the inspection results; calculating a difference between a set of pixel values of the generated reference cell image and a corresponding set of pixel values of the first cell and the at least a second cell in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first cell and the at least a second cell. ### Claim 21 A method for mixed mode inspection comprising: receiving one or more inspection results of a wafer, wherein the one or more inspection results include one or more images of a selected region of the wafer, the one or more images including one or more wafer die, the one or more wafer die including a set of blocks, wherein at least some of the blocks are irregular, one or more of the set of the blocks including a set of repeating cells; adjusting a pixel size of the one or more images in order to map each cell to substantially an integer number of pixels; adjusting a pixel size of the one or more images in order to map each die to an integer number of pixels; aligning a first block with at least a second block; comparing a first wafer die to at least a second wafer die in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first wafer die and the at least a second wafer die; comparing a first block to at least a second block in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first block and the at least a second block; and comparing a first cell to at least a second cell in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first cell and the at least a second cell. ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, wherein the irregular blocks comprises: at least one of blocks being irregularly positioned, blocks being irregularly sized blocks and blocks having an irregular type. ### Claim 23 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, wherein the receiving one or more inspection results comprises: receiving one or more inspection results from an inspection system. ### Claim 24 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, wherein the inspection system comprises: at least one of an optical inspection system and an electron beam inspection system. ### Claim 25 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, wherein the aligning a first block with at least a second block comprises: performing a run-time alignment process on the one or more repeating patterns of the first block with respect to the at least a second block. ### Claim 26 (depends on 21) The method of claim 21, further comprising: prior to the comparison the first wafer die to the at least a second wafer die, aligning one or more repeating patterns of the first wafer die with respect to the at least a second wafer die. ### Claim 27 A method for providing mixed mode wafer inspection comprising: receiving one or more inspection results of a wafer, wherein the one or more inspection results include one or more images of a selected region of the wafer, the one or more images including one or more wafer die, the one or more wafer die including a set of blocks, one or more of the set of blocks include a set of repeating cells; adjusting a pixel size of the one or more images in order to map each cell to substantially an integer number of pixels; adjusting a pixel size of the one or more images in order to map each block to substantially an integer number of pixels; comparing a first block to at least a second block in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first block and the at least a second block; and comparing a first cell to at least a second cell in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first cell and the at least a second cell. ### Claim 28 (depends on 27) The method of claim 27, wherein the set of blocks comprise: a set of repeating blocks. ### Claim 29 (depends on 27) The method of claim 27, wherein the set of blocks comprise: a set of non-repeating blocks. ### Claim 30 A method for providing field-to-field based wafer inspection comprising: receiving one or more inspection results of a wafer, wherein the one or more inspection results include one or more images of a selected region of the wafer, the one or more images including three or more fields, each of the three or more fields included in a common die; generating a reference field image by combining the three or more fields of the inspection results; and comparing one or more fields to the generated reference field image in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in the one or more fields. ### Claim 31 (depends on 30) The method of claim 30, wherein the combining the three or more fields of the inspection results comprises: combining the three or more fields of the inspection results with one or more ensemble-based pixel processing procedures. ### Claim 32 (depends on 31) The method of claim 31, wherein the ensemble-based pixel processing procedures comprises: at least one of median processing, arithmetic averaging, geometric averaging, weighted averaging and unbiased best linear estimation. ### Claim 33 (depends on 30) The method of claim 30, wherein the compared one or more fields are acquired from the received one or more inspection results. ### Claim 34 (depends on 30) The method of claim 30, wherein the compared one or more fields are acquired from an additional one or more inspection results. ### Claim 35 (depends on 30) The method of claim 30, wherein the comparing one or more fields to the generated reference field in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in the one or more fields comprises: calculating a difference between a set of pixel values of the one or more fields and a corresponding set of pixel values of the generated reference field image. ### Claim 36 (depends on 30) The method of claim 30, wherein at least one of the three or more fields of the generated reference field image and the one or more fields compared to the generated reference field image include a repeating set of cells. ### Claim 37 (depends on 30) The method of claim 30, wherein at least one of the three or more fields of the generated reference field image and the one or more fields compared to the generated reference field image comprise: two or more fields having a regular spacing along at least one of a first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. ### Claim 38 (depends on 30) The method of claim 30, wherein at least one of the three or more fields of the generated reference field image and the one or more fields compared to the generated reference field image comprise: two or more fields having an irregular spacing along at least one of a first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. ### Claim 39 A method for design guided wafer inspection of repeating blocks comprising: receiving one or more sets of design data at least associated with a region of interest of a wafer; identifying one or more repeating blocks in the received design data; selecting a portion of the identified one or more repeating blocks for inspection based on one or more selected attributes of the one or more repeating blocks; and performing one or more inspection processes with an inspection tool on the selected portion of the identified one or more repeating blocks. ### Claim 40 (depends on 39) The method of claim 39, wherein the inspection tool comprises: at least one of an optical inspection tool and an electron beam inspection tool. ### Claim 41 (depends on 39) The method of claim 39, wherein the region of interest comprises: at least a portion of a die of a wafer. ### Claim 42 (depends on 39) The method of claim 39, wherein the one or more sets of design data is received in a design layout file. ### Claim 43 (depends on 39) The method of claim 39, wherein the one or more repeating blocks comprise: one or more sets of repeating cells. ### Claim 44 (depends on 39) The method of claim 39, wherein the one or more repeating blocks comprise: one or more sets of repeating polygons. ### Claim 45 (depends on 39) The method of claim 39, further comprising: prior to identifying the one or more repeating blocks, generating at least one DCA by analyzing one or more localized element variations inside the region of interest. ### Claim 46 (depends on 39) The method of claim 39, wherein the identifying one or more repeating blocks in the received design data comprises: identifying one or more repeating blocks in the received design data with a design cell hierarchy. ### Claim 47 (depends on 39) The method of claim 39, wherein the identifying one or more repeating blocks in the received design data comprises: processing one or more non-spatially repeating and non-aligned portions of the region of interest; and storing one or more non-spatially repeating and non-aligned portions of the region of interest. ### Claim 48 (depends on 39) The method of claim 39, wherein the identifying one or more repeating blocks in the received design data comprises: identifying a first repeating block; and identifying at least a second repeating block flipped relative to the first repeating block utilizing the received design data. ### Claim 49 (depends on 39) The method of claim 39, wherein the identifying one or more repeating blocks in the received design data comprises: identifying a first repeating block; and identifying at least a second repeating block rotated relative to the first repeating utilizing the received design data. ### Claim 50 (depends on 39) The method of claim 39, wherein the identifying one or more repeating blocks in the received design data comprises: identifying one or more repeating blocks based on image processing of received design data. ### Claim 51 (depends on 39) The method of claim 39, further comprising: determining a cell level hierarchy for inspection repeating blocks based on design data. ### Claim 52 (depends on 39) The method of claim 39, wherein the one or more selected attributes comprise: a pattern density of the one or more repeating blocks. ### Claim 53 (depends on 39) The method of claim 39, wherein the one or more selected attributes comprise: a criticality factor of the one or more repeating blocks. ### Claim 54 (depends on 39) The method of claim 39, further comprising: prior to selecting a portion of the identified one or more repeating blocks for inspection based on one or more selected attributes, analyzing an inspection feasibility metric of the one or more repeating block. ### Claim 55 (depends on 39) The method of claim 39, wherein the performing one or more inspection processes on the selected portion of the identified one or more repeating blocks comprise: performing one or more mixed mode inspection processes on the selected portion of the identified one or more repeating blocks. ### Claim 56 (depends on 39) The method of claim 39, wherein the performing one or more inspection processes on the selected portion of the identified one or more repeating blocks comprise: performing one or more field-to-field inspection processes on the selected portion of the identified one or more repeating blocks. ### Claim 57 A method for wafer inspection of fields of repeating pattern structures comprising: receiving one or more inspection results of a wafer including one or more images of a portion of a die of a wafer; presenting one or more portions of the received inspection results on a display; receiving a first signal indicative of a user identification of a first field of repeating pattern structures within the die of the presented one or more portions of the received inspection results; receiving at least a second signal indicative of a user identification of a second field of repeating pattern structures within the die of the presented one or more portions of the received inspection results, the at least a second field of repeating pattern structures differing from the first field of repeating pattern structure by one or more symmetry operations; and comparing corresponding portions of the first repeating pattern structure to the at least a second repeating pattern structure in order to identify an occurrence of one or more defects in at least one of the first field of repeating pattern structures and the at least a second repeating pattern structure. ### Claim 58 (depends on 57) The method of claim 57, wherein at least one of the first field of repeating pattern structures and the at least a second field of repeating pattern structures comprise: a field of repeating cells. ### Claim 59 (depends on 57) The method of claim 57, wherein at least one of the first field of repeating pattern structures and the at least a second field of repeating pattern structures comprise: a field of repeating polygons. ### Claim 60 (depends on 57) The method of claim 57, wherein at least one of the first field of repeating pattern structures and the at least a second field of repeating pattern structures are spaced regularly along at least a first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. ### Claim 61 (depends on 57) The method of claim 57, wherein at least one of the first field of repeating pattern structures and the at least a second field of repeating pattern structures are spaced irregularly along at least a first direction and a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.