A confocal optical apparatus includes a ligth source, a first aperture portion for passing light emitted from the light source and shaping it into a spot, an objective lens for converging the light passing through the first aperture portion on an object to be measured, a second aperture portion positioned on a plane conjugate with the surface of the object where the light falls, and an optical detector for detecting light passing through the second aperture portions. The first and second aperture portions are disposed at the same position so that the same aperture can be shared. The detection surface of the optical detector is disposed in substantially the same plane as the shared aperture. In this way, the size and the weight of the apparatus can be reduced, measurement of a three-dimensional shape can be made at a high speed and highly accurately, and positioning of each portion can be made easily.

Confocal optical apparatus.

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and device for detecting a minute circuit pattern with high resolution to detect defects with only a little damage to a specimen and an optical system. SOLUTION: This device for detecting pattern defects is equipped with a recipe setting means 3300 for setting a recipe, a lighting optical system, and a detecting optical system. The lighting optical system is equipped with a laser light source 3 for launching ultraviolet laser light, light quantity adjusting means 4 and 11 for adjusting the light quantity of the laser light launched from the light source in obedience to the recipe set by the setting means, a lighting area forming means 14 for forming a lighting area of the laser light to the specimen, the light quantity of the laser light being adjusted by the adjusting means, a coherence reducing means 17, and an irradiation optical system 20 for irradiating the specimen with ultraviolet light flux having a reduced coherence. The detecting optical system is equipped with a condensing optical system 20 for condensing reflected light from the specimen, a diffracted light control optical system 19 for controlling diffracted light of the reflected light condensed by the condensing optical system, and a detector for imaging a reflected light image from the specimen obtained through the control optical system to detect image signals 21 and 28. COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Method and device for inspecting pattern defect

In a method and apparatus for detecting pattern defects, a UV laser is focused on a pupil of an objective lens and scanned; the focused and scanned UV lens illuminates a specimen on which patterns are formed; the specimen illuminated by the UV laser is imaged: and the resulting image of the specimen is compared with a previously stored reference image. The specimen illuminated by UV light is imaged using an anti-blooming time delay integration image sensor or a back-illumination time delay integration image sensor; and the resulting specimen image is compared with a previously stored reference image.

Method and apparatus for inspecting defects in a patterned specimen

A pattern inspection apparatus includes a light source configured to emit a pulsed light, a stage on which an inspection target workpiece is placed, a sensor, including a plurality of light receiving elements two-dimensionally arrayed, configured to capture a pattern image in a two-dimensional region of the inspection target workpiece which is irradiated with the pulsed light, by using the plurality of light receiving elements, and a comparing unit configured to compare data of the pattern image with predetermined reference pattern image data, wherein the stage moves to be shifted by a number of pixels, being the number of natural number times one pixel, between pulses of the pulsed light.

Pattern inspection apparatus and pattern inspection method

A system and method for photolithographic mask repair. The system comprises a structure for supporting a mask to be operated on, a laser emitting device for effecting mask repair, a light source adjacent the support structure for selected illumination of the mask, a laser processor for effecting sequential angular manipulation of a laser beam projecting from the laser emitting device, a computer device for controlling the sequential angular manipulation so as to capture a generally complete waveform of the beam, and a microscope for multi-aspect viewing of the mask during navigation of the beam about the mask. The computer device, simultaneously with manipulation of the beam, effecting fine motion control of the beam, controlled movement of the motorized aperture for effecting the sequential angular manipulation, controlled support structure movement, and image data processing.

Laser delivery system and method for photolithographic mask repair

A method for inspecting a photomask, comprising generating a laser beam, changing a phase of the laser beam to smooth the brightness distribution of the laser beam, applying the smoothed laser beam to the photomask, acquiring an image of the photomask using a sensor while the laser beam and the photomask are relatively moved, examining the image of the photomask for a defect of the mask-pattern of the photomask.

Method for repairing a photomask, method for inspecting a photomask, method for manufacturing a photomask, and method for manufacturing a semiconductor device

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pattern defect repair apparatus capable of inspecting the defect of patterns with higher resolution and executing the defect repair of the high-fineness mask patterns when a laser beam is adopted as the light source of an inspection apparatus for the pattern defect. SOLUTION: This photomask inspection apparatus has an illumination optical system 5 which changes the phase of the laser beam and irradiates the photomask 2 with this laser beam in the state of making the brightness distribution of the laser beam uniform and a defect detector which detects the image of the photomask 2 with an accumulation type sensor 17 while relatively moving the laser beam and the photomask 2, fetching an output signal from this accumulation type sensor 17 cooperatively with the movement described above, forms the image of the mask and detects the defect of the mask patterns in accordance with the image of the mask.

Photomask repair method, inspection method, inspection apparatus and photomask production

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pattern defect repairing device where a problem when a laser beam is adopted as a light source of an inspection device of a pattern defect, the defect of a pattern is inspected with higher resolution and the defect of the mask pattern can highly precisely be repaired. SOLUTION: The device is provided with an illumination optical system 5 irradiating a photomask 2 with the laser beam in a state where a phase of the laser beams is changed and brightness distribution of the laser beam is uniformized and a defect detection device (central operating unit 2) detecting an image of the photomask by an accumulation-type sensor 17 while the laser beam and the photomask 2 are relatively moved, taking out an output signal from the accumulation-type sensor 17 in connection to the movement, forming a picture of the mask and detecting the defect of the mask pattern based on the picture of the mask. COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Photomask repairing method, inspection method, inspection device and photomask manufacturing method

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively analyze each pattern by setting an optimum shape of a light source for a mask in which a plurality of kinds of patterns are mixed SOLUTION: In the design method for a lighting shape, the lighting shape in an optical lighting system is designed as the aggregation of point light sources on the occasion of transferring a pattern on a sheet of a mask, on which two or more kinds of patterns are formed to a photosensitive material coated on the substrate using a projection exposure apparatus in an exposure process for manufacturing a semiconductor device For such a design method, after the aggregation 16 of the point light sources is selected for obtaining an optical image required to form with a necessary focal depth and a necessary exposure quantity margin, a first pattern in the most severe requirement for the location of the light source aggregation 17 of the point light sources is added for obtaining an optical image required to form the second and third patterns other than the first pattern with the necessary focal depth and the necessary exposure quantity margin within a range for holding the margin to the first pattern COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Design method and design program for lighting shape

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pattern defect repair apparatus capable of repairing the defect of a higher fineness mask pattern by solving the problem of the case a laser beam is employed as a light source for an inspection apparatus for the pattern defect and by inspecting the defect of the pattern with higher resolution. SOLUTION: The apparatus has an illumination optical system 5 which changes the phase of the laser beam and irradiates a photomask 2 with the laser beam in the state of making the brightness distribution of the laser beam uniform and a defect detector (a central processing unit 2) which detects the image of the photomask 2 with a storage type sensor 17 while relatively moving the laser beam and the photomask 2, fetches an output signal from the sensor 17 cooperatively with the movement to form the image of the mask and detects the defect of the mask pattern based on the image of the mask. COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Katsuki Ohashi

Papers

Method for repairing a photomask, method for inspecting a photomask, method for manufacturing a photomask, and method for manufacturing a semiconductor device

Photomask repair method, inspection method, inspection apparatus and photomask production

Photomask repairing method, inspection method, inspection device and photomask manufacturing method

Design method and design program for lighting shape

Method for repairing photomask, inspection method, inspection apparatus, and method for manufacturing photomask