Method and apparatus of measuring pattern dimension and controlling semiconductor device process having an error revising unit
AssigneeHitachi High-Technologies Corporation
InventorsMaki Tanaka, Hidetoshi Morokuma, Chie Shishido, Yuji Takagi
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Abstract
A method of measuring pattern dimensions includes evaluating a relationship between cross-sectional shapes of a pattern and measurement errors of a pattern in a specified image processing technique, and conducting an actual measurement in which dimension measurement of an evaluation objective pattern from image signals of a microscope is carried out, and revising errors of the dimension measurement of the evaluation objective pattern based on the relationship between the cross-sectional shapes of a pattern and the measurement errors of a pattern previously evaluated.
Claims22
A method of measuring pattern dimensions, comprising the steps of:
- evaluating a relationship between dimensions measured from a cross-sectional shape of a pattern and dimensions measured from an image of the pattern acquired by using a SEM to each of plural patterns having various shapes which are made as measurement objective patterns, and storing relationships evaluated to each of the plural patterns;
- conducting dimension measurement of an objective pattern from an image of the objective pattern acquired by using the SEM and estimating a cross-sectional shape of the objective pattern from the image of the objective pattern acquired by using the SEM;
- and
- revising errors of the dimension measurement of the objective pattern based on the stored relationship between the dimensions measured from the cross-sectional shapes of the plural patterns and the dimensions measured from the images of each of the plural patterns having various shapes previously evaluated by using information on cross-sectional shape of the objective pattern estimated from the image of the objective pattern acquired by using the SEM.
An apparatus for measuring pattern dimensions, comprising:
- a measurement unit which conducts an actual measurement of an objective pattern so as to obtain a dimension measurement by processing image signals of the objective pattern obtained by a microscope and estimating a cross-sectional shape of the objective pattern from the image signals;
- an evaluating unit which evaluates, to each of plural patterns having various shapes which are made as the measurement objective pattern, a relationship between dimensions measured from a cross-sectional shape of a pattern and dimensions measured from an image of the pattern and dimensions measured by an image of the pattern obtained by the microscope;
- and
- a revising unit which revises errors of the dimension measurement of the objective pattern conducted by the measurement unit based on the relationship between the dimensions measured from the cross-sectional shape of the pattern and the dimensions measured from the image of the pattern evaluated in advance by the evaluating unit by using information on cross-sectional shape of the objective pattern estimated from the image by the measurement unit.
An apparatus for measuring pattern dimensions, comprising:
- a scanning electron microscope unit which irradiates and scans a converged electron beam on a surface of a specimen on which plural patterns including an objective pattern are formed and obtains image signals;
- a dimension measurement unit to measure dimensions of the objective pattern by processing image signals of the objective pattern obtained by the scanning electron microscope unit and estimating a cross-sectional shape of the objective pattern from the image signals;
- an evaluating unit which evaluates, to each of plural patterns of various shapes which are made as the measurement objective pattern, a relationship between dimensions measured from a cross-sectional shape of a pattern and dimensions measured from an image of the pattern obtained by the scanning electron microscope unit;
- and
- a revising unit which revises errors of a dimension measurement of the objective pattern measured by the dimension measurement unit based on the
- relationship between the dimensions measured from the cross-sectional shape of the pattern and the dimensions measured from the image of the pattern evaluated to plural patterns in advance by the evaluating unit by using information on cross-sectional shape of the objective pattern estimated from the image by the dimension measurement unit.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.