Defect inspection apparatus and defect inspection method

A defect inspection apparatus comprising:

• an electro-optic system configured to radiate an electron beam on an object to be inspected;
• a secondary-electron detector configured to detect secondary electrons generated from the object in response to the electron beam and to generate an electrical signal from the secondary electrons;
• an image generator configured to generate a digital image of the object based on the electrical signal;
• an energy-dispersion X-ray spectrometer configured to detect an X-ray spectrum generated by the object in response to the electron beam;
• a user interface configured to receive a set of radiation parameters from a user, wherein the radiation parameters are for radiating the electron beam;
• an electro-optic system controller configured to set the radiation parameters for the electron beam;
• a composition-feature-extraction unit configured to extract a composition feature of an element composition from the detected X-ray spectrum;
• an image-feature-extraction unit configured to extract an image feature from the digital image;
• and
• a defect-classification unit configured to classify the-object based on the composition feature and the image feature
• a monitor configured to substantially simultaneously display the X-ray spectrum and the digital image of the object for defect analysis.

A defect inspection method comprising the steps of:

• radiating an electron beam on an object;
• detecting secondary electrons generated by the object in response to the electron beam;
• generating a digital image based on the secondary electrons;
• calculating an image feature of the object by analyzing the digital image;
• collating the image feature with a criterion stored in a memory;
• based on the collating step, determining whether to generate an X-ray spectrum of the object;
• if a determination is made to generate an X-ray spectrum:
• changing a radiation condition for the electron beam;
• subsequent to the changing step, radiating the electron beam on the object;
• detecting an X-ray spectrum of the object in response to the step of radiating the electron beam on the object with the changed radiation condition;
• and
• displaying on a display the X-ray spectrum and the digital image for defect analysis of the object.

A defect inspection method comprising the steps of:

• radiating an electron beam having a first radiation condition on a wafer that includes a plurality of defects;
• detecting secondary electrons generated from the wafer in response to the electron beam;
• generating a plurality of digital images corresponding to the plurality of defects based on the detected secondary electrons;
• calculating a plurality of image features that respectively correspond to the plurality of defects by analyzing the digital images;
• based on the image features, selecting a defect from the plurality of defects for element analysis;
• changing a radiation condition for the electron beam from the first radiation condition to a second radiation condition;
• thereafter
• radiating the electron beam on the select defect;
• and
• detecting an X-ray spectrum generated from the select defect in response to the electron beam;
• adjacently displaying on a display the X-ray spectrum and the digital image of the select defect for analysis of the select defect.