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US 7,453,577 B2Granted
Apparatus and method for inspecting a patterned part of a sample
AssigneeASML Netherlands B.V.
InventorsJan Evert Van Der Werf, Arie Jeffrey Den Boef, Cristian-Nicolae Presura
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Abstract
An inspection apparatus is disclosed having an radiation system configured to provide an radiation beam, a beamnsplitter configured to create, from the radiation beam, a first illumination beam and a second illumination beam directed to a planar reference part of a sample and a patterned part of the sample, respectively, and a beam detector configured to detect a detection beam, the detection beam comprising a recombination of radiation scattered from the planar reference part and the patterned part.
Claims30
An inspection apparatus, comprising:
- a beamsplitter configured to create, from a radiation beam, a first illumination beam and a second illumination beam directed to a planar reference part of a sample and a patterned part of the sample, respectively;
- a beam detector configured to detect a detection beam, the detection beam comprising a recombination of radiation reflected and/or scattered from the planar reference part and the patterned part and having an elliptical polarization, and the detection comprising a determination of information related to the eccentricity and/or the orientation of the elliptical polarization of the radiation in the detection beam;
- and
- a sample table configured to hold the sample and to move with respect to the first and second illumination beams, the sample table configured to move the patterned part and the planar reference part from a first position where the patterned part and the planar reference part, in use, receive the first and second illumination beams, respectively, to be inspected by the first and second illumination beams, to a second position where the patterned part and the planar reference part, in use, receive the second and first illumination beams, respectively, to be inspected by the second and first illumination beams.
1 more element
A method to inspect a patterned part of a sample, comprising:
- creating, from a radiation beam, a first illumination beam and a second illumination beam;
- positioning a sample at a first position such that the first illumination beam is directed to a planar reference part of the sample and the second illumination beam is directed to a patterned part of the sample;
- detecting a detection beam, the detection beam comprising a recombination of radiation reflected and/or scattered from the planar reference part and the patterned part and having an elliptical polarization, and the detecting comprising determining information related to the eccentricity and/or the orientation of the elliptical polarization of the radiation in the detection beam;
- and
- moving the sample from the first position , to a second position where the patterned part and the planar reference part receive the second and first illumination beams, respectively, to be inspected by the second and first illumination beams.
2 more elements
A method for inspecting a patterned part of a sample, comprising:
- illuminating a planar reference with a first illumination beam;
- illuminating the patterned part with a second illumination beam;
- combining radiation from the first and the second illumination beams that has been reflected and/or scattered from the planar reference and the patterned part to form a second detection beam;
- detecting an optical property of the first detection beam;
- determining information related to an eccentricity and/or an orientation of an elliptical polarization of radiation in the first detection beam;
- illuminating the planar reference with the second illumination beam;
- illuminating the patterned part with the first illumination beam;
- combing radiation from the first and the second illumination beam that has been reflected and/or scattered from the planar reference and the patterned part to from a second detection beam;
- detecting an optical property of the second detection beam;
- determining information related to an eccentricity and/or an orientation of an ellitical polarization of radiation in second detection beam;
- calculating properties of the patterned part of the sample based on the determined information related to the eccentricities and/or the orientation of the elliptical polarization of radition in the first and second detection beams;and
- storing the calculated properties.
9 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.