SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICE MANUFACTURING METHOD THAT ALLOWS REWORK RATE IN MANUFACTURING STEP TO DECREASE

1 . A semiconductor device manufacturing method comprising:

forming a first film to be processed on a semiconductor substrate;

forming a first pattern in the first film to be processed;

measuring a first distance, which is a dimension in a predetermined direction in the first pattern;

forming a second film to be processed on the first pattern;

forming a second pattern in a photoresist formed on the second film to be processed; and

measuring a second distance, which is a dimension in a predetermined direction in the second pattern,

wherein whether or not the second pattern is defective is determined based on either the first distance or a value calculated from the first and second distances.

2 . The semiconductor device manufacturing method according to claim 1 ,

wherein the calculated value is defined for each wafer or each manufacturing lot.

3 . The semiconductor device manufacturing method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

forming a third pattern in the second film to be processed by using the second pattern as an etching mask; and

measuring a third distance, which is a dimension in a predetermined direction in the third pattern,

wherein a measurement region for measuring the third distance is determined based on either the first distance or the calculated value.

4 . The semiconductor device manufacturing method according to claim 3 ,

wherein the calculated value is obtained by halving the difference between the second distance multiplied by a coefficient and the first distance, and

the coefficient is determined based on a thickness of the second film to be processed and process conditions under which the third pattern is formed.

5 . The semiconductor device manufacturing method according to claim 3 , further comprising:

providing a plurality of images each of which contains the first pattern and the third pattern with the third pattern shifted from the center of the first pattern in a plane coordinate system to the extent that the third distance is measurable,

wherein the first and third patterns are compared with the plurality of images before the measurement region is determined, selecting an image containing first and third patterns that substantially coincide with the first and third patterns, and determining the selected image as a measurement region that surrounds the first and third patterns.

6 . The semiconductor device manufacturing method according to claim 3 ,

wherein the measurement region has a plurality of sides each of which has a length corresponding to the first distance, and the plurality of sides surrounds the first and third patterns.