Pattern measurement apparatus and pattern measuring method

1. A pattern measurement apparatus comprising:

a line profile creating unit for creating a line profile of a pattern formed on a sample by scanning with a charged particle beam;

a derivative profile creating unit for creating a second derivative profile by differentiating twice the line profile; and

an edge detecting unit for judging whether a cross-sectional edge in the pattern is a rising edge or a falling edge based on a relationship between two positive peak positions and two peak values appearing at locations of both sides of each cross-sectional edge of the pattern obtained from the second derivative profile.

2. The pattern measurement apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein, assuming that the two peak positions appearing at the locations of the both sides of each cross-sectional edge of the pattern obtained from the second derivative profile are defined as X 1 and X 2 , X 2 being larger than X 1 , the edge detecting unit judges that the cross-sectional edge is a rising edge when a signal amount in the peak position X 1 is larger than a signal amount in the peak position X 2 .

3. The pattern measurement apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein, assuming that the two peak positions appearing at the locations of the both sides of cross-sectional edge of the pattern obtained from the second derivative profile are defined as X 1 and X 2 , X 2 being larger than X 1 , the edge detecting unit judges that the cross-sectional edge is a falling edge when the signal amount in the peak position X 1 is smaller than the signal amount in the peak position X 2 .

4. The pattern measurement apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the pattern formed on the sample is a line-and-space pattern in which line patterns are formed at even intervals.

5. A pattern measuring method comprising the steps of:

creating a line profile of a pattern formed on a sample by scanning the sample with a charged particle beam;

creating a second derivative profile by differentiating twice the line profile; and

judging whether a cross-sectional edge in the pattern is a rising edge or a falling edge based on a relationship between two positive peak positions and two peak values appearing at locations of both sides of each cross-sectional edge of the pattern obtained from the second derivative profile.

6. The pattern measuring method according to claim 5 ,

wherein, assuming that the two peak positions appearing at the locations of the both sides of each cross-sectional edge of the pattern obtained from the second derivative profile are defined as X 1 and X 2 , X 2 being larger than X 1 , the cross-sectional edge is judged to be a rising edge in the step of judging whether the edge in the pattern is a rising edge or a falling edge when a signal amount in the peak position X 1 is larger than a signal amount in the peak position X 2 .

7. The pattern measuring method according to claim 5 ,

wherein, assuming that the two peak positions appearing at the locations of the both sides of the location of the cross-sectional edge of the pattern obtained from the second derivative profile are defined as X 1 and X 2 , X 2 being larger than X 1 , the cross-sectional edge is judged to be a falling edge in the step of judging whether the edge in the pattern is a rising edge or a falling edge when a signal amount in the peak position X 1 is smaller than the signal amount in the peak position X 2 .

8. The pattern measuring method according to claim 5 ,

wherein the pattern formed on the sample is a line-and-space pattern in which line patterns are formed at even intervals.

9. A pattern measurement apparatus, comprising:

means for acquiring a line profile of a pattern formed on a sample by scanning with a charged particle beam,

wherein, according to the magnitudes of values of two peaks in the vicinity of a position of a cross-sectional edge of pattern, which two positive peaks appear at locations of both sides of each cross-sectional edge of the pattern in a second derivative profile obtained by differentiating twice the line profile, a judgment is made as to whether the cross-sectional edge of pattern shown by locations and values of the two positive peaks represents a rising edge or a falling edge.