Method for monitoring the operational state of a surface inspection system for detecting defects on the surface of semiconductor wafers

1. A method for monitoring the operational state of a surface inspection system for detecting defects on the surface of semiconductor wafers to determine whether the operational state is a proper state for detecting defects on semiconductor wafers, comprising:

providing a surface inspection system including at least one light source directed at the surface of a wafer and at least one detector which detects scattered light from the wafer surface,

providing a reference semiconductor wafer having defects of a particular number and size and density on an examination surface of the reference semiconductor wafer;

conducting a reference inspection of the reference semiconductor wafer and at least one control inspection of the reference semiconductor wafer by scanning the wafer surface using the surface inspection system, and measuring and recording the position and size of the defects on the examination surface;

identifying one or more defects which, because of their position, are regarded as common defects of the reference inspection and of the control inspection;

for each common defect, determining a size difference which is obtained from comparing the size of the common defect on the basis of the reference inspection and the control inspection; and

assessing the operational state of the surface inspection system on the basis of the size difference or differences determined, wherein the assessment of the operational state of the surface inspection system is anomalous if the average of the size differences lies in a size interval outside a tolerance corridor, wherein if the operational state is determined to be faulty, restoring the surface inspection system to a proper operational state.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the difference between a lower and an upper threshold of the tolerance corridor is not greater than a calibration tolerance in the size interval.

3. The method of claim 1 , comprising generating a warning signal if the operational state of the surface inspection system is assessed as anomalous.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the defects on the examination surface of the reference semiconductor wafer have a continuous size distribution.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the defects on the examination surface of the reference semiconductor wafer have a continuous size distribution.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the defects on the examination surface of the reference semiconductor wafer have a density which is not less than 1/cm 2 and not greater than 15/cm 2 .

7. The method of claim 2 , wherein the defects on the examination surface of the reference semiconductor wafer have a density which is not less than 1/cm 2 and not greater than 15/cm 2 .

8. The method of claim 4 , wherein the defects on the examination surface of the reference semiconductor wafer have a density which is not less than 1/cm 2 and not greater than 15/cm 2 .

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reference semiconductor wafer is obtained from a single crystal and the defects on the examination surface originate from vacancy agglomerations which have been formed during crystallization of the single crystal.

10. The method of claim 2 , wherein the reference semiconductor wafer is obtained from a single crystal and the defects on the examination surface originate from vacancy agglomerations which have been formed during crystallization of the single crystal.

11. The method of claim 3 , wherein the reference semiconductor wafer is obtained from a single crystal and the defects on the examination surface originate from vacancy agglomerations which have been formed during crystallization of the single crystal.

12. The method of claim 4 , wherein the reference semiconductor wafer is obtained from a single crystal and the defects on the examination surface originate from vacancy agglomerations which have been formed during crystallization of the single crystal.

13. The method of claim 6 , wherein the reference semiconductor wafer is obtained from a single crystal and the defects on the examination surface originate from vacancy agglomerations which have been formed during crystallization of the single crystal.

14. In a process for the surface examination of semiconductor wafers to detect surface defects on the wafers wherein a surface inspection system containing at least one source of laser light which scans the wafer surface and at least one detector which detects light scattered from the wafer surface is used, wherein an operational state of the surface inspection system is assessed by inspection of a reference wafer, the improvement comprising:

providing a reference semiconductor wafer having defects of a particular number and size and density on an examination surface of the reference semiconductor wafer:

conducting a reference inspection by scanning the reference semiconductor wafer and at least one control inspection by a further scanning of the reference semiconductor wafer by using the surface inspection system, and measuring and recording the position and size of the defects on the examination surface being measured;

identifying one or more defects which, because of their position on the reference semiconductor wafer, are regarded as common defects of the reference inspection and of the control inspection;

for each common defect, determining a size difference which is obtained by comparing the sizes of the common defect on the basis of the reference inspection and the control inspection; and

assessing the operational state of the surface inspection system on the basis of the size difference or differences determined, and if the operational state is determined to be proper, scanning at least one semiconductor wafer for surface defects, and if the operational state is determined to be anomalous, restoring the operational state to a proper operational state, and scanning at least on semiconductor wafer for surface defects.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the assessment of the operational state of the surface inspection system is anomalous if the average of the size differences lies in a size interval outside a tolerance corridor.