IP Library Granted Patent US 7,601,974
Granted Patent B2
US 7,601,974 · App. 11/785,433 · Granted Oct 13, 2009

Charged particle beam apparatus

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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 7,601,974
App. No.
11/785,433
Granted
Oct 13, 2009
Kind
B2
Abstract

An object of this invention is to provide a charged particle beam apparatus that is capable of handling samples without adhering impurities onto the samples. In a scanning electron microscope in which a lubricant was coated on a sliding portion of a movable member that moves inside a vacuum chamber, a substance from which low molecular components were removed is used as the lubricant. It is thus possible to inhibit sample contamination and suppress the occurrence of defects in a process following measurement of the samples.

Claims (23)

1. A charged particle beam apparatus comprising:

a charged particle beam for irradiating a sample;

a detector for detecting charged particles released from the sample;

a vacuum chamber that surrounds the sample; and

a detection apparatus which detects one or more substances selected from the group consisting of aliphatic hydrocarbon-based substances, phthalate substances, perfluoropolyether-based substances inside the vacuum chamber, and a component included in a lubricant used inside the vacuum chamber;

wherein the detection apparatus includes a spectrophotometer.

2. The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a display apparatus which displays a detection result of the detection apparatus.

3. The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the detection apparatus detects a molecular weight of the detected substances.

4. The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the detection apparatus includes a storage media which stores changes over time to a molecular weight of the detected substances.

5. The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the spectrophotometer is a quadrupole mass spectrophotometer.

6. The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the spectrophotometer is an infrared spectrophotometer.

7. The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the spectrophotometer is an ellipsometer.

8. The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the detection apparatus uses a quartz resonator microbalance as a detector.

9. A sample measurement method performing a sample measurement by a charged particle beam during a semiconductor production process, comprising:

detecting one or more substances released from a sample inside a vacuum chamber of an apparatus performing the sample measurement, wherein the substances are selected from the group consisting of aliphatic hydrocarbon-based substances, phthalate substances, perfluoropolyether-based substances, and a component included in a lubricant used inside the vacuum chamber;

moving sample to a next semiconductor production process after a washing process, when the substances are detected at or above a predetermined value; and

moving the sample to a next semiconductor production process without washing, when the substances are not detected.

10. The method according to claim 9 , wherein when the substances are not detected or detected below a predetermined value, the sample is moved to a next semiconductor production process without a washing process.

11. The method according to claim 9 , wherein the next semiconductor production process a resist coating process.

12. A sample measurement method performing a sample measurement by a charged particle beam during a semiconductor production process, comprising:

moving the sample to a next semiconductor production process without the washing process of the sample, when a measurement by a charged particle beam apparatus which uses a lubricant from which low molecular components are removed is performed, and

moving the sample to a next semiconductor production process after the washing process of the sample, when a measurement by a charged particle beam apparatus which uses a lubricant from which low molecular components are not removed is performed.

13. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the next semiconductor production process is a resist coating process.

Assignments (1)
CHANGE OF NAME AND ADDRESS Recorded Mar 30, 2020
From: HITACHI HIGH-TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
To: HITACHI HIGH-TECH CORPORATION
Reel/Frame 052259/0227 →