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US 8,571,301 B2Granted
Alignment method and examination apparatus
AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
InventorTakafumi Sonoura
Life of this patent
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Abstract
According to one embodiment, an alignment method includes setting a local area from an alignment target area, the local area being an execution target area of local alignment to be performed with precision equal to or higher than required alignment precision; performing the local alignment between a pattern image of an examination target and a reference pattern image of an examination reference, in the local area, to obtain a shift amount that is a result of local alignment; and shifting a whole of the reference pattern image by using the shift amount.
Claims14
An alignment method comprising:
- setting, with respect to each pixel on a reference pattern image of an examination reference, when a maximum value of image brightness variations within a first predetermined range from a point of a pixel is equal to or less than a first threshold, the point of the pixel to an exclusion area;
- setting a local area from among areas excluding the exclusion area in an alignment target area, the local area being an execution target area of local alignment;
- performing the local alignment between a pattern image of an examination target and the reference pattern image in the local area, to obtain a shift amount that is a result of local alignment;
- and
- shifting a whole of the reference pattern image by using the shift amount.
2 more elements
An examination apparatus comprising:
- an exclusion area setting unit that sets, with respect to each pixel on a reference pattern image of an examination reference, when a maximum value of image brightness variations within a first predetermined range from a point of a pixel is equal to or less than a first threshold, the point of the pixel to an exclusion area;
- a local-area setting unit that sets a local area from among areas excluding the exclusion area in an alignment target area, the local area being an execution target area of local alignment;
- a local alignment unit that performs the local alignment a pattern image of an examination target and the reference pattern image, in the local area, to obtain a shift amount that is a result of the local alignment;
- and
- a shift unit that shifts a whole of the reference pattern image by using the shift amount.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.