System and method for inspecting a semiconductor sample
AssigneeAdvanced Micro Devices, Inc.
InventorQuentin De Robillard
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a system and method of inspecting a semiconductor sample. A plurality of scans of the semiconductor sample are recorded. Each of the scans comprises a spatially resolved measurement of a property of interest. At least one cross-correlation is calculated between at least two of the plurality of scans. For each of the plurality of scans, a respective shift value is calculated based on the at least one cross-correlation. The scans are superimposed with each other. In the superposition, each of the scans is shifted by the respective shift value. The shift values can be adapted to compensate a drift of the semiconductor sample which occurs while the scans are recorded. Hence, the present invention helps overcome problems caused by the drift.
Claims24
A method of inspecting a semiconductor sample, comprising:
- recording a plurality of scans of said semiconductor sample, each of said scans comprising a spatially resolved measurement of a property of interest;
- calculating at least one cross-correlation between at least two of said plurality of scans;
- determining a respective shift value for each of said plurality of scans based on said at least one cross-correlation;
- and
- combining said scans, each of said scans being shifted by said respective shift value in said combination.
A method of inspecting a semiconductor sample, comprising:
- recording a plurality of scans of said semiconductor sample, said recording of each of said scans comprising scanning said semiconductor structure with an electron beam and measuring a response of said semiconductor structure to said electron beam;
- calculating at least one cross-correlation between at least two of said plurality of scans;
- determining a respective shift value for each of said plurality of scans based on said at least one cross-correlation;
- and
- adding said scans, each of said scans being shifted by said respective shift value in said addition.
A system for inspecting a semiconductor sample, comprising:
- an electron microscope adapted to record a plurality of scans of said semiconductor sample, each of said scans comprising a spatially resolved measurement of a property of interest;
- an analyzer adapted to calculate at least one cross-correlation between at least two of said plurality of scans and to determine a respective shift value for each of said plurality of scans based on said at least one cross-correlation;
- and
- an superimposer adapted to combine said scans, each of said scans being shifted by said respective shift value in combination.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.