IP Library Granted Patent US 8,207,498
Granted Patent B2
US 8,207,498 · App. 12/985,633 · Granted Jun 26, 2012

Electron beam apparatus and electron beam inspection method

Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,207,498
App. No.
12/985,633
Granted
Jun 26, 2012
Kind
B2
Abstract

An electron beam apparatus which includes a sample stage on which a sample is placed, and an electron optical system. The electron optical system includes an electron gun that generates a primary electron beam, an immersion objective lens that converges the primary electron beam on the sample, an ExB deflector that separates a secondary particle, which is generated from irradiation of the primary beam to the sample, from an optical axis of the primary beam, a reflecting member to which the secondary particle collides, an assist electrode which is located under the reflecting member, a plurality of incidental particle detectors that selectively detect a velocity component and an azimuth component of a ternary particle which is generated by the secondary particle colliding to the reflecting member, and a center detector that is located above the reflecting member.

Claims (10)

1. An electron beam apparatus including an information processing apparatus, a display, an electron optical column that irradiates a charged-particle beam to a sample substrate which is a sample to be inspected and detects a secondary-particle signal or a two-dimensional intensity distribution based on the secondary-particle signal, a main chamber in which sample substrates are stored, a load-lock chamber used to carry each sample substrate into or out of the main chamber, and a robot which transports each sample substrate to the load-lock chamber and can automatically exchange the sample substrates:

the information processing apparatus comprising:

a display control unit;

an electron microscope control unit which has a beam scan control block, a column control block, a stage control block, a pump control block and a robot control block; and

a display data computation unit which has a recipe control block, a image processing block and a defect coordinate control block;

wherein the recipe control block communicates at a high speed with the display control unit, the image processing block, the defect coordinate control block, the beam scan control block, the column control block, the stage control block, the pump control block and the robot control block based on an inspection recipe registered via the display control unit; and

wherein the display has a screen for displaying and selecting a defect map, a classification map, a formed image, an observational magnification, an inspection mode which refers to an operating mode of the electron optical column in acquiring an observation image utilized for detecting a defect or a foreign matter, an observation mode which refers to an operating mode of the election optical column in acquiring a finer observation image of the defect or foreign matter, a normal mode or a charge mode which accompanies the inspection mode or the observation mode and is an irradiation condition of a primary electron beam, and displays a result of classification of a defect.

2. The electron beam apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the recipe control block comprises a beam mode selecting field in which index information corresponding to each operating mode is stored, a voltage value field in which voltage values to be applied to an assist electrode and a lower electrode of an objective lens are stored,

wherein the beam mode selecting field is further divided into a major category field and a minor category field, and index information corresponding to the “inspection mode”, “observation mode” and a “normal mode” or a “charge mode” are stored, and the voltage value field stores voltage values to be applied to the assist electrode and the lower electrode of the objective lens corresponding to conditions configured to a combination of the index information stored in a major category field and a minor category field.

Priority Claims (1)
JP 2006-290772 · Oct 26, 2006 · national
Continuity (2)
Continuation 11877715 · Oct 24, 2007
Related Publication 20110101223A1 · May 5, 2011