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US 8,508,727 B2Granted
Defects inspecting apparatus and defects inspecting method
AssigneeHitachi High-Technologies Corporation
InventorsSachio Uto, Minori Noguchi, Hidetoshi Nishiyama, Yoshimasa Ohshima, Akira Hamamatsu, Takahiro Jingu, Toshihiko Nakata, Masahiro Watanabe
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An inspecting apparatus and method including first and second illuminating units for illuminating a surface of a specimen to be inspected with different incident angles and first and second detecting optical units arranged at different elevation angle directions to the surface of the specimen for detecting images of the specimen illuminated by the first and second illuminating units.
Claims18
A defect inspecting apparatus, comprising:
- an illumination optic system configured to irradiate slit-like shaped laser beams upon a surface of an inspection target substrate;
- a detection optic system, having a first detector and a second detector configured to detect light initially radiated from said illumination optic system and thereafter scattering upon the surface of said inspection target substrate, the second detector being disposed in a direction different from that of said first detector, with respect to the surface of said inspection target substrate;
- and
- a processing portion configured to compare a first characteristic quantity upon basis of a first scattering light detected by said first detector of said detecting optic system, and a second characteristic quantity upon basis of a second scattering light detected by said second detector of said detection optic system, and thereby conducting a classification of defects;
- wherein said first scattering light is detected under an optical condition differing from said second scattering light, in at least one of:
- an illumination angle of said illumination optic system, a direction of illumination of said illumination optic system, a detection angle of said detection optic system, an intersection angle of said detection optic system, a magnification of said detection optic system, or an optical filter of said detection optic system.
3 more elements
A defect inspecting method, comprising the following steps of:
- an illuminating step that irradiates slit-like shaped laser beams upon a surface of an inspection target substrate;
- a first detecting step having a first detecting step that detects light initially radiated in said illuminating step and thereafter scattering upon the surface of said inspection target substrate into a first direction;
- a second detecting step that detects light scattering into a second direction differing from said first detection;
- a processing step that compares:
- a first characteristic quantity upon basis of a first scattering light detected in said first detecting step, and a second characteristic quantity upon basis of a second scattering light detected in said second detecting step, and thereby conducting a classification of defects;
- wherein said first scattering light is detected under an optical condition differing from said second scattering light, in at least one of:
- an illumination angle in said illuminating step, a direction of illumination in said illuminating step, a detection angle in said detecting step, an intersection angle in said detecting step, a magnification in said detecting step, or an optical filter in said detecting step.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.