Electron beam inspection system and method

An automatic system for the automatic inspection of a substrate comprising:

• a charged particle beam column to deliver and scan a charged particle beam on the surface of said substrate;
• a charged particle detector to detect at least one of the three types of charged particles emanating from the top or bottom surfaces of said substrate, namely, secondary charged particles, back-scattered charged particles and transmitted charged particles;
• and
• an optical alignment system to align said substrate beneath said charged particle beam.

A method for the automatic inspection of a substrate using an electron beam from a field emission source, said method comprising the steps of:

• a. positioning the electron beam on the substrate accurately by measuring the position of the substrate;
• b. deflecting the electron beam to the desired position of said substrate measured in step a.;
• c. scanning the desired position of the surface of the substrate with the electron beam as said substrate is continuously moving with at least one degree of motion in an x-y plane;
• and
• d. detecting at least one of the three types of charged particles emanating from the top or bottom surfaces of said substrate as a result of step c., namely, secondary charged particles, back-scattered charged particles and transmitted charged particles.

An automatic system for the automatic inspection of a substrate comprising:

• field emission electron source to provide an electron beam;
• charged particle beam column to deliver and scan an electron beam from said field emission electron source on the surface of said substrate;
• a charged particle detector to detect at least one of the three types of charged particles emanating from the top or bottom surfaces of said substrate, namely, secondary charged particles, back-scattered charged particles and transmitted charged particles;
• an interferometer to determine the position of said substrate with respect to said charged particle beam;
• and
• a stage disposed to receive said substrate and to provide continuous motion relative to said charged particle beam.

An automatic system for the automatic inspection of a substrate using an electron beam, said system comprising:

• a field emission source to provide an electron beam;
• means for positioning the electron beam on the substrate accurately by measuring the position of the substrate;
• means for deflecting the electron beam to the desired position of said substrate as measured by said positioning means;
• means for scanning the desired position of the surface of the substrate with the electron beam;
• a charged particle detector to detect at least one of the three types of charged particles emanating from the top and bottom surfaces of said substrate, namely, secondary charged particles, back-scattered charged particles and transmitted charged particles;
• and
• a continuously moving x-y stage disposed to receive said substrate and to provide at least one degree of motion to said substrate while the substrate is being scanned by the electron beam.