| Patent Number |
Title Of Patent |
Date Issued |
| 7440086 |
Methods and systems for creating a recipe for a defect review process |
October 21, 2008 |
| Methods and systems for creating a recipe for a defect review process are provided. One method includes determining an identity of a specimen on which the defect review process will be performed. The method also includes identifying inspection results for the specimen based on the id |
| 7436508 |
Systems, circuits and methods for reducing thermal damage and extending the detection range of a |
October 14, 2008 |
| Inspection systems, circuits, and methods are provided to enhance defect detection by reducing thermal damage to large particles by dynamically altering the incident laser beam power level supplied to the specimen during a surface inspection scan. In one embodiment, an inspection system |
| 7436505 |
Computer-implemented methods and systems for determining a configuration for a light scattering |
October 14, 2008 |
| Computer-implemented methods and systems for determining a configuration for a light scattering inspection system are provided. One computer-implemented method includes determining a three-dimensional map of signal-to-noise ratio values for data that would be acquired for a specimen |
| 7436503 |
Dark field inspection apparatus and methods |
October 14, 2008 |
| Accordingly, the present invention provides methods and apparatus for performing a darkfield inspection on a specimen having periodic structures thereon while substantially reducing or eliminating the long range ringing response, which is typically produced by a traditional Fourier f |
| 7433040 |
Apparatus and methods for detecting overlay errors using scatterometry |
October 7, 2008 |
| Disclosed is a method for determining an overlay error between at least two layers in a multiple layer sample. An imaging optical system is used to measure a plurality of measured optical signals from a plurality of periodic targets on the sample. The targets each have a first structure |
| 7430898 |
Methods and systems for analyzing a specimen using atomic force microscopy profiling in combinat |
October 7, 2008 |
| A system that includes an optical subsystem and an atomic force microscope probe is provided. The optical subsystem is configured to generate positional information about a location on a surface of the specimen. The system is configured to position the probe proximate the location based |
| 7423250 |
Systems, circuits and methods for extending the detection range of an inspection system by avoid |
September 9, 2008 |
| Inspection systems, circuits and methods are provided to enhance defect detection by addressing saturation levels of the amplifier and analog-digital circuitry as a limiting factor of the measurement detection range of an inspection system. In accordance with one embodiment of the in |
| 7418124 |
Qualifying patterns, patterning processes, or patterning apparatus in the fabrication of microli |
August 26, 2008 |
| Methods that include acquiring aerial images of a reticle for different values of a member of a set of lithographic variables are provided. One method also includes determining a presence of an anomaly in a design pattern of the reticle by comparing at least one pair of the aerial im |
| 7417724 |
Wafer inspection systems and methods for analyzing inspection data |
August 26, 2008 |
| Wafer inspection systems and methods are provided. One inspection system includes a module measurement cell coupled to a host inspection system by a wafer handler. The module measurement cell is configured to inspect a wafer using one or more modes prior to inspection of the wafer by the |
| 7414715 |
Systems, circuits and methods for extending the detection range of an inspection system by avoid |
August 19, 2008 |
| Inspection systems, circuits and methods are provided to enhance defect detection by addressing anode saturation as a limiting factor of the measurement detection range of a photomultiplier tube (PMT) detector. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a method for inspecting |
| 7408641 |
Measurement systems configured to perform measurements of a specimen and illumination subsystems |
August 5, 2008 |
| An illumination subsystem configured to provide illumination for a measurement system includes first and second light sources configured to generate light for measurements in different wavelength regimes. The illumination subsystem also includes a TIR prism configured to be moved int |
| 7397557 |
Serrated Fourier filters and inspection systems |
July 8, 2008 |
| Serrated Fourier filters and inspection systems are provided. One Fourier filter includes one or more blocking elements configured to block a portion of light from a wafer. The Fourier filter also includes periodic serrations formed on edges of the one or more blocking elements. The |
| 7397254 |
Methods for imperfect insulating film electrical thickness/capacitance measurement |
July 8, 2008 |
| Methods for determining an electrical parameter of an insulating film are provided. One method includes measuring a surface potential of a leaky insulating film without inducing leakage across the insulating film and determining the electrical parameter from the surface potential. Anothe |
| 7396022 |
System and method for optimizing wafer flatness at high rotational speeds |
July 8, 2008 |
| The present invention is a chuck having a vacuum groove that is capable of holding a wafer as the chuck rotates on a spindle. As the chuck rotates the air pressure above the center of the wafer is reduced. In order to reduce the bowing of the wafer that can result from this low pressure |
| 7394067 |
Systems and methods for reducing alteration of a specimen during analysis for charged particle b |
July 1, 2008 |
| Systems and methods for reducing alteration of a specimen during by charged particle based and other measurements systems are provided. One system configured to reduce alteration of a specimen during analysis includes a vacuum chamber in which the specimen is disposed during the anal |
| 7385688 |
Multi-spot illumination and collection optics for highly tilted wafer planes |
June 10, 2008 |
| Multi-spot illumination and collection optics for highly tilted wafer planes are provided. One system configured to provide illumination of a wafer for inspection includes one or more optical elements configured to direct light to an entrance pupil. The system also includes a diffractive |
| 7379183 |
Apparatus and methods for detecting overlay errors using scatterometry |
May 27, 2008 |
| Disclosed is a method of determining an overlay error between two layers of a multiple layer sample. For a plurality of periodic targets that each have a first structure formed from a first layer and a second structure formed from a second layer of the sample, an optical system is employ |
| 7379175 |
Methods and systems for reticle inspection and defect review using aerial imaging |
May 27, 2008 |
| Methods and systems for inspecting a reticle are provided. In an embodiment, a system may include an inspection subsystem configured to form a first aerial image of the reticle. The first aerial image may be used to detect defects on the reticle. The system may also include a review |
| 7373277 |
Methods and systems for detection of selected defects particularly in relatively noisy inspectio |
May 13, 2008 |
| Various methods and systems for detection of selected defects particularly in relatively noisy inspection data are provided. One method includes applying a spatial filter algorithm to raw inspection data acquired across an area on a substrate to determine a first portion of the raw i |
| 7372559 |
Systems and methods for inspecting a wafer with increased sensitivity |
May 13, 2008 |
| Systems and methods for inspecting a wafer with increased sensitivity are provided. One system includes an inspection subsystem configured to direct light to a spot on the wafer and to generate output signals responsive to light scattered from the spot on the wafer. The system also i |
| 7368208 |
Measuring phase errors on phase shift masks |
May 6, 2008 |
| Methods and apparatus for producing a semiconductor. A production reticle having a pattern that includes circuit features, phase shift target structures and overlay target structures is provided. The pattern is transferred multiple times across a test wafer surface for various focus |
| 7365321 |
Methods and systems for measuring a characteristic of a substrate or preparing a substrate for a |
April 29, 2008 |
| Methods and systems for measuring a characteristic of a substrate or preparing a substrate for analysis are provided. One method for measuring a characteristic of a substrate includes removing a portion of a feature on the substrate using an electron beam to expose a cross-sectional |
| 7359052 |
Systems and methods for measurement of a specimen with vacuum ultraviolet light |
April 15, 2008 |
| Various systems for measurement of a specimen are provided. One system includes an optical subsystem configured to perform measurements of a specimen using vacuum ultraviolet light and non-vacuum ultraviolet light. This system also includes a purging subsystem that is configured to m |
| 7358748 |
Methods and systems for determining a property of an insulating film |
April 15, 2008 |
| A method for determining a property of an insulating film is provided. The method may include obtaining a charge density measurement of the film, a surface voltage potential of the film relative to a bulk voltage potential of the substrate, and a rate of voltage decay of the film. The |
| 7355709 |
Methods and systems for optical and non-optical measurements of a substrate |
April 8, 2008 |
| Methods and systems for measurements of a substrate are provided. One system includes a non-optical subsystem configured to perform first measurements on a substrate. The system also includes an optical subsystem coupled to the non-optical subsystem. The optical subsystem is configur |
| 7352456 |
Method and apparatus for inspecting a substrate using a plurality of inspection wavelength regim |
April 1, 2008 |
| A surface inspection apparatus and method are disclosed. In particular, the method and apparatus are capable of inspecting a surface in two (or more) optical regimes thereby enhancing the defect detection properties of such method and apparatus. A method involves illuminating the surface |
| 7351980 |
All-reflective optical systems for broadband wafer inspection |
April 1, 2008 |
| All-reflective optical systems for broadband wafer inspection are provided. One system configured to inspect a wafer includes an optical subsystem. All light-directing components of the optical subsystem are reflective optical components except for one or more refractive optical comp |
| 7349090 |
Methods and systems for determining a property of a specimen prior to, during, or subsequent to |
March 25, 2008 |
| Methods and systems for monitoring semiconductor fabrication processes are provided. A system may include a stage configured to support a specimen and coupled to a measurement device. The measurement device may include an illumination system and a detection system. The illumination syste |
| 7349079 |
Methods for measurement or analysis of a nitrogen concentration of a specimen |
March 25, 2008 |
| A method for measurement of a specimen is provided. The method includes measuring spectroscopic ellipsometric data of the specimen. The method also includes determining a nitrogen concentration of a nitrided oxide gate dielectric formed on the specimen from the spectroscopic ellipsom |
| 7345754 |
Fourier filters and wafer inspection systems |
March 18, 2008 |
| Fourier filters and wafer inspection systems are provided. One embodiment relates to a one-dimensional Fourier filter configured to be included in a bright field inspection system such that the bright field inspection system can be used for broadband dark field inspection of a wafer. The |
| 7345752 |
Multi-spot illumination and collection optics for highly tilted wafer planes |
March 18, 2008 |
| Multi-spot illumination and collection optics for highly tilted wafer planes are provided. One system configured to collect and detect light scattered from a wafer includes a set of optical elements configured to collect light scattered from spatially separated spots formed on a wafer |
| 7332438 |
Methods and systems for monitoring a parameter of a measurement device during polishing, damage |
February 19, 2008 |
| Methods and systems for monitoring a parameter of a measurement device during polishing, damage to a specimen during polishing, a characteristic of a polishing pad, or a characteristic of a polishing tool are provided. One method includes scanning a specimen with a measurement device dur |
| 7304731 |
Systems and methods for providing illumination of a specimen for inspection |
December 4, 2007 |
| Systems and methods for providing illumination of a specimen for inspection are provided. One system includes one or more first optical elements configured to illuminate a diffuser with a predetermined pattern of coherent light. The system also includes one or more second optical ele |
| 7304310 |
Methods and systems for inspecting a specimen using light scattered in different wavelength rang |
December 4, 2007 |
| Methods and systems for inspecting a specimen are provided. One method includes directing ultraviolet light to a specimen. The method also includes detecting light scattered from the specimen having a selected wavelength range. In addition, the method includes detecting features, def |
| 7304302 |
Systems configured to reduce distortion of a resist during a metrology process and systems and m |
December 4, 2007 |
| Various systems configured to reduce distortion of a resist during a metrology process are provided. The systems include an electron beam metrology tool configured to measure one or more characteristics of one or more resist features formed on a specimen. The electron beam metrology |
| 7274440 |
Systems and methods for measuring stress in a specimen |
September 25, 2007 |
| Systems and methods for measuring stress in a specimen are provided. One system includes an optical subsystem configured to measure stress-induced birefringence in patterned structures formed on the specimen. In some embodiments, the optical subsystem may be configured as a spectroscopic |
| 7248062 |
Contactless charge measurement of product wafers and control of corona generation and deposition |
July 24, 2007 |
| Systems and methods for determining a property of a specimen are provided. The specimen may be a product wafer. The method may include biasing a focused spot on the specimen. The method may also include measuring a parameter of a measurement spot on the specimen. The measurement spot may |
| 7236847 |
Systems and methods for closed loop defect reduction |
June 26, 2007 |
| Systems and methods for repairing defects on a specimen are provided. A method may include processing a specimen, detecting defects on the specimen, and repairing one or more of the defects. An additional method may include detecting defects on a specimen, repairing one or more of the |
| 7227628 |
Wafer inspection systems and methods for analyzing inspection data |
June 5, 2007 |
| Wafer inspection systems and methods are provided. One inspection system includes a module measurement cell coupled to a host inspection system by a wafer handler. The module measurement cell is configured to inspect a wafer using one or more modes prior to inspection of the wafer by the |
| 7199946 |
Systems configured to provide illumination of a specimen during inspection |
April 3, 2007 |
| Systems configured to provide illumination of a specimen during inspection are provided. One system includes catoptric elements configured to direct light from a light source to a line across the specimen at an oblique angle of incidence. The catoptric elements include positive and negat |
| 7196782 |
Methods and systems for determining a thin film characteristic and an electrical property of a s |
March 27, 2007 |
| Methods and systems for monitoring semiconductor fabrication processes are provided. A system may include a stage configured to support a specimen and coupled to a measurement device. The measurement device may include an illumination system and a detection system. The illumination syste |
| 7190441 |
Methods and systems for preparing a sample for thin film analysis |
March 13, 2007 |
| Methods and systems for preparing a sample for thin film analysis are provided. One system includes an energy beam source configured to generate an energy beam. The system also includes an energy beam delivery subsystem configured to direct the energy beam to a sample and to modify t |
| 7187994 |
Method of interfacing ancillary equipment to FIMS processing stations |
March 6, 2007 |
| This invention includes a method of integrating into a semiconductor specimen fabrication station a process diagnostic module that performs on the semiconductor specimen a processing operation that otherwise would not be performed by the processing components to thereby make the fabr |
| 7187186 |
Methods and systems for determining one or more properties of a specimen |
March 6, 2007 |
| Various methods and systems for determining one or more properties of a specimen are provided. One system for determining a property of a specimen is configured to illuminate a specimen with different wavelengths of light substantially simultaneously. The different wavelengths of lig |
| 7175503 |
Methods and systems for determining a characteristic of polishing within a zone on a specimen fr |
February 13, 2007 |
| Systems and methods for characterizing polishing of a specimen are provided. One method includes scanning a specimen with an eddy current device during polishing to generate output signals at measurement spots across the specimen. The method also includes combining a portion of the o |
| 7148073 |
Methods and systems for preparing a copper containing substrate for analysis |
December 12, 2006 |
| Methods and systems for preparing a substrate for analysis are provided. One method includes removing a portion of a copper structure on the substrate using an etch chemistry in combination with an electron beam. The etch chemistry is substantially inert with respect to the copper st |
| 7142992 |
Flexible hybrid defect classification for semiconductor manufacturing |
November 28, 2006 |
| Hybrid methods for classifying defects in semiconductor manufacturing are provided. The methods include applying a flexible sequence of rules for defects to inspection data. The sequence of rules includes deterministic rules, statistical rules, hybrid rules, or some combination thereof. |
| 7142941 |
Computer-implemented method and carrier medium configured to generate a set of process parameter |
November 28, 2006 |
| A computer-implemented method and a storage medium adapted to identify potential causes of lithography process failure or drift is provided. |
| 7139083 |
Methods and systems for determining a composition and a thickness of a specimen |
November 21, 2006 |
| Methods and systems for monitoring semiconductor fabrication processes are provided. A system may include a stage configured to support a specimen and coupled to a measurement device. The measurement device may include an illumination system and a detection system. The illumination syste |
| 7133119 |
Systems for simulating high NA and polarization effects in aerial images |
November 7, 2006 |
| Reticle inspection systems are provided. One embodiment includes an optical subsystem configured to produce an aerial image of a reticle by simulating dose as a function of position that would be projected into a resist by an exposure system such that the aerial image is substantially |
