Inspection apparatus and inspection method
AssigneeHitachi High-Technologies Corporation
InventorsHiroyuki Yamashita, Yukihisa Mohara, Eiji Imai
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An inspection apparatus includes a wafer stage for carrying a wafer, an illumination module which irradiates an inspection beam on the wafer carried on the wafer stage, a detection module which detects scattering rays or reflection rays from the wafer on the wafer stage and outputs an image signal, a coordinates control module which stores information about the arrangement of individual inspection areas on the wafer, and an imperfect area recognition module which recognizes, on the basis of the inspection area arrangement information stored in the coordinates control module, an imperfect inspection area interfering with a wafer edge.
Claims10
An inspection apparatus for inspecting a substrate, the inspection apparatus comprising:
- an illumination unit which illuminates the substrate with light, the substrate including a first area having only part of a first pattern thereon and a second area having at least part of a second pattern thereon, the first and second areas constituting portions of a third area, wherein the first area is missing a portion corresponding to another part of the first pattern such that the first pattern is only partially formed on the substrate;
- a detection unit which detects light from the illuminated substrate and generates a signal of an image based on the detected light, the image including the first and second areas;
- a memory which stores arrangement information of the first, second and third areas;
- and
- a processing unit which uses the arrangement information to recognize imperfection of at least one of the first and second areas.
An inspection method comprising:
- illuminating a substrate with light, the substrate including a first area having only part of a first pattern thereon and a second area having at least part of a second pattern thereon, the first and second areas constituting portions of a third area, wherein the first area is missing a portion corresponding to another part of the first pattern such that the first pattern is only partially formed on the substrate;
- detecting light from the illuminated substrate and generating a signal of an image based on the detected light, the image including the first and second areas;
- recognizing, by use of arrangement information of the first, second and third areas stored in a memory, imperfection of at least one of the first and second areas.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.