79 results about "Mask inspection" patented technology

A method for detecting printing defects in a photolithography mask that will print on a wafer when using the photolithography mask in a specific photolithography system to print semiconductor structures on the wafer, the method comprising: acquiring a first aerial image of the photolithography mask using a mask inspection system; generating a second aerial image of the photolithography mask by applying a machine learning model (26) to the first aerial image, wherein the machine learning model is trained to map a first aerial image acquired by a mask inspection system to a second aerial image that emulates the application of the specific photolithography system to the photolithography mask; and detecting printing defects in the photolithography mask by comparing the second aerial image to a reference image.

An optical hollow waveguide component (25), particularly for homogenizing EUV light, comprises two support elements (26) and two insert elements (28), which are particularly plate-shaped. The insert elements (28) are inserted between the support elements (26) such that a hollow waveguide (11) is formed between the insert elements (28). The hollow waveguide component (25) is particularly suitable for use in an illumination optic for a mask inspection system (1) for use with EUV illumination light. An optical system with such an illumination optic and a mask inspection system with the optical system are also described.

The utility model discloses a mask detection optical system which comprises an objective lens, a first spectroscope, a second spectroscope, a primary tube lens and a tube lens switching mechanism, wherein the objective lens, the first spectroscope, the primary tube lens, the tube lens switching mechanism and the second spectroscope are sequentially arranged along a detection light path, and at least two secondary tube lenses are connected in the tube lens switching mechanism. The tube lens switching mechanism is used for driving the diode lenses to move so as to switch different diode lenses to move into the detection light path; the light passes through the objective lens and then is transmitted to the first-stage tube lens through the first spectroscope, and then the light passes through the first-stage tube lens and a second-stage tube lens located in the detection light path and then enters the second spectroscope. According to the utility model, the optical magnification factor can be adjusted through the switching tube lens, so that masks with different line widths can be detected, and the detection efficiency is improved.

An energy detection assembly (78) is suitable for an illumination system of a mask inspection system for use with EUV illumination light (3). The assembly (78) has at least one EUV energy sensor device (77) designed to detect energy of the illumination light (3) guided along an illumination light beam path. The EUV energy sensor device (77) has at least one energy value sensor and at least one energy change sensor (79). The energy value sensor serves to detect an illumination energy of the illumination light (3) over an exposure period. The energy change sensor (79) serves to detect a temporal development of the illumination energy of the illumination light (3) over the exposure period. This results in an energy detection assembly by means of which the inspection accuracy of the mask inspection system can be improved.

The invention relates to a device (1) for holding an optical element (2), in particular an optical element of a mask inspection system or a lithography system, comprising a mounting point (3) for connection with the optical element (2), a support (4), and a support base (5). The mounting point (3) is connected to the support (4). The support (4) has at least one leg (6) and an ankle joint (7), wherein the ankle joint (7) pivotally connects a lower end (6a) of the leg (6), facing away from the mounting point (3), to the support base (5). According to the invention, the ankle joint (7) has a support joint (7a) and a transverse joint (7b), wherein the support joint (7a) pivotally connects the lower end (6a) of the leg (6) directly to the support base (5).

An energy detection assembly (26) for an illumination system of a mask inspection system for use with EUV illumination light (3) has a beam homogenizing element (11) for guiding the illumination light (3). The beam homogenizing element (11) has an inlet opening (12) and an outlet opening (14) for the illumination light (3). The assembly (26) has at least one EUV energy sensor device (24 i), which detects illumination light (3) guided outside the inlet opening (12) of the beam-homogenizing element (11) along an illumination light beam path. In further embodiments of corresponding assemblies, the EUV energy sensor device detects illumination light guided within the exit opening or also illumination light guided beyond a detection range of a spatially resolving detection device. In a further embodiment of the assembly, an EUV energy sensor device detects detection light that is not passed through by a useful light filter into a subsequent illumination light beam path. Another embodiment of the assembly has an EUV energy sensor device that measures a photocurrent. Another embodiment of the assembly has an energy sensor device arranged in the beam path of fluorescence detection light generated in a fluorescent layer of an EUV mirror.Another version of the assembly has an EUV energy sensor device that detects illumination light guided in a central region of an illumination pupil or an illumination light beam path of the illumination optics. Another version of the assembly has an ion detector or an electron detector. The result is an energy detection assembly that can be used to improve the inspection accuracy of a mask inspection system.

There is provided a system and method of a method of mask inspection, comprising: obtaining a plurality of aerial images of a mask; generating a plurality of image coresets corresponding to the aerial images, comprising, for each given aerial image: applying a printing threshold on the given aerial image to obtain a binary image representative of printable features thereof; extracting a contour for each feature of interest (FOI) from the printable features, and generating a descriptor characterizing the contour, giving rise to a group of contours associated with respective descriptors; and creating an image coreset for the group of contours based on the respective descriptors thereof, the image coreset comprising one or more families, each comprising at least one representative contour representing one or more similar contours of a respective type from the group of contours. The plurality of image coresets can be merged to obtain a mask coreset.

Systems for determining a scanner aerial image from a mask inspection image include a computer processor configured to receive the mask inspection image, wherein the mask inspection image has been generated by a mask inspection machine; and a computer processor configured to generate the scanner aerial image from the mask inspection image using a neural network. Systems include a computer processor configured to train a neural network with a set of images, such as with a simulated scanner aerial image and another image selected from a simulated mask inspection image, a simulated Critical Dimension Scanning Electron Microscope (CD-SEM) image, a simulated scanner emulator image and a simulated actinic mask inspection image.

PURPOSE: To provide an inspection device with which it is possible to suppress background reflections of a ghost image.CONSTITUTION: An inspection device 100 in one embodiment of the present invention is characterized by having: a lens array 304 for dividing inspection light into multiple rays of light upon receiving radiation of the inspection light; a lens array stage 320 for supporting the lens array and capable of moving in a plane orthogonal to the optical axis of the inspection light; an objective lens 104 for irradiating a mask substrate on which a diagram pattern is formed, with at least some of the multiple rays of light; an imaging sensor 105 for capturing an optical image of the mask substrate that is obtained by irradiating the mask substrate with light; a luminous quantity sensor 324 for measuring the luminous quantity of the inspection light; and a stage control circuit 140 for controlling a stage so that the position of the lens array is changed when the integral amount of measured luminous quantities increases to a threshold or greater.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

A mask inspection machine includes a platform unit for carrying a transparent container. The transparent container includes a lower window and an upper window. The platform unit includes a platform and a carrier. The platform includes a slot. The carrier is movable on the platform along the slot. The carrier includes a plate and guiding elements. The plate includes a support face including an inspection window corresponding to the lower window of the transparent container. The guiding elements are connected to the support face for guiding the transparent container onto the support face.

A method for operating a mask inspection device, in which a photomask illuminated with EUV radiation is imaged onto an image sensor of an EUV camera by a projection lens. The photomask is borne by a positioning system, the positioning system being designed to change the position of the photomask relative to the projection lens. The photomask is moved relative to the projection lens during an exposure process of the EUV camera so that an image line is captured. An image structure included in the image line is compared with a reference structure and a variance between the image structure and the reference structure results in the positioning system being actuated in order to perform a corrective movement of the photomask. The invention also relates to a mask inspection device, a control system and a computer program product.

An EUV photomask inspection apparatus includes a plurality of optical systems respectively forming different confocal points in a mask structure including an EUV photomask and a pellicle on the EUV photomask. A first optical system among the plurality of optical systems includes a first light source emitting first light having a wavelength in a visible light range, a beam splitter transmitting or reflecting the first light, an objective lens configured to allow the first light to pass through at least a portion of the mask structure to form a first focus in the mask structure, a first light detector configured to detect first reflected light reflected from the mask structure by the incident first light, and a pinhole plate in front of the first light source. The first light detector includes a detection module including a PMT and an APD, and a thermoelectric cooling module.

A screen mask inspection device inspects a screen mask including a screen opening that forms a printing pattern, and includes: an inspection control device that detects solder position information of a solder paste printed on a substrate via the screen opening, and based on the solder position information, determines whether a quality of printing using the screen mask is good or bad, the solder position information being based on an amount of positional misalignment of the solder paste actually printed on the substrate relative to a predetermined reference position.

This invention provides a high-resolution, low-energy electron microscope and a mask inspection method for providing topographic information. [Solution] A corrected scanning electron microscope (CSEM) and a method for operating the CSEM are presented for selectively separating material contrast from topographic contrast. The microscope and method enable high imaging resolution by backscattered electrons generated from low-energy primary electrons. The CSEM and method are applicable to mask modification and circuit editing processes having resolution requirements in the low nm range or even lower range.

An inspection system includes a stage for positioning a substrate to be inspected, one or more reticle-based diagnostic targets positioned on the stage, and a reticle inspection sub-system having a field of view encompassing the stage. The system includes a controller configured to move the field of view between portions of the stage to selectively perform substrate and run time diagnostics (RTD) of predefined image quality metrics. In embodiments, the system may be an APMI system for EUV mask inspection and the diagnostic targets may be EUV reticle-based diagnostic targets having predefined EUV performance patterning. In embodiments, the diagnostic targets may be positioned adjacent to the mask to be inspected to permit contiguous scanning to perform inspection and RTD.

Disclosed is an optical system for mask inspection, comprising an objective lens, a first beam splitter, a second beam splitter, a primary tube lens, and a tube lens switching mechanism. The objective lens, the first beam splitter, the primary tube lens, the tube lens switching mechanism, and the second beam splitter are sequentially arranged along an inspection optical path. At least two secondary tube lenses are connected into the tube lens switching mechanism. The tube lens switching mechanism is used to drive the secondary tube lenses to move, so as to switch different secondary tube lenses into the inspection optical path. Consequently, light, after passing through the objective lens, is transmitted to the primary tube lens through the first beam splitter, then passes through the primary tube lens and the secondary tube lens positioned in the inspection optical path, and then enters the second beam splitter. In the present utility model, optical magnification can be adjusted by means of switching tube lenses, thereby enabling inspection of masks with different line widths and improving inspection efficiency.

A lithography mask may include a substrate layer. The lithography mask may include a multilayer reflective film disposed on the substrate layer and forming a first pattern, wherein the multilayer reflective film is configured to receive incident light and reflect a portion of the incident light toward an imaging collection pupil. The lithography mask may include a grating forming a second pattern on the substrate layer and configured to receive the incident light and deflect an additional portion of the incident light outside of the imaging collection pupil. The lithography mask may be inspected by an Actinic Patterned Mask Inspection (APMI) system. The second pattern may include a reflective film deposited on the grating.

A system and method for mask inspection are provided, including: obtaining a plurality of inspection images and a set of reference images for an inspection area of a mask; generating a plurality of defect maps, each of the plurality of defect maps including one or more candidate defects located in the inspection area of a corresponding inspection image; aligning one or more candidate defects to a list of candidate defects of interest (DCI); generating a plurality of differential patches corresponding to the plurality of inspection images for at least one given DCI in the list; calculating a rank based on the plurality of differential patches; and applying a detection threshold to the rank to determine whether the given DCI is a defect of interest (DOI).

A mask inspection device, comprising a vacuum housing, an EUV camera and, arranged in the interior of the vacuum housing, a projection lens for imaging at least one portion of an EUV photomask onto an image sensor of the EUV camera. The EUV camera is mounted on the vacuum housing. The position of the EUV camera is adjustable between a first position and a second position relative to the vacuum housing by use of an adjusting mechanism. The invention also relates to a method for adjusting a mask inspection device.

The invention discloses a mask detection machine which comprises N conveyor belts, N is larger than or equal to 2, a light-transmitting gap is formed between every two adjacent conveyor belts, the conveyor belts are sequentially arranged in the conveying direction of masks, the input end of each conveyor belt is lower than the output end of the conveyor belt, and in every two adjacent conveyor belts, the light-transmitting gap is formed between every two adjacent conveyor belts in the conveying direction of the masks. And the output end of the (N-1) th conveyor belt is higher than the input end of the Nth conveyor belt. The highest position of the output end of the (N-1) th conveying belt is 2-8 mm higher than the highest position of the input end of the Nth conveying belt. A light source is arranged at one of the upper portion and the lower portion of the light-transmitting gap, and a linear camera is arranged at the other of the upper portion and the lower portion of the light-transmitting gap. The device is stable in conveying and good in imaging effect.

An EUV mask inspection apparatus is provided. The EUV mask inspection apparatus comprises: a light source for generating EUV light; a mirror for changing a path of light such that the EUV light generated from the light source is emitted to a mask; a mirror stage coupled to the mirror and controlling the position of the mirror such that an incident angle at which the EUV light is emitted to the mask is controlled; and a detection array for collecting the EUV light diffracted through the mask to obtain a diffraction pattern of the diffracted EUV light, wherein an illumination system is implemented by combining diffraction patterns of first EUV light and second EUV light emitted at different angles to the same region of the mask.

The invention relates to a manipulable platform for mounting a camera on a vacuum housing, as well as a mask inspection device and a method for adjusting a mask inspection device. A manipulable platform according to the invention comprises a first assembly (110, 210, 310) which provides a first adjustment mechanism for tilting the platform, wherein the first assembly (110, 210, 310) has a first double wedge arrangement consisting of two wedge-shaped ring disks (111, 112, 211, 212, 311, 312) which are rotatably mounted on one another about a predetermined axis via a first ball bearing (115, 215, 315).

The utility model relates to the technical field of mask detection machines, in particular to a double-sided polishing mask detection machine which comprises a detection machine body, a dust cover is fixedly mounted at the top of the detection machine body, inlet and outlet holes are formed in the front side and the rear side of the bottom of the dust cover, and four fixed triangular blocks are fixedly connected to the top of the detection machine body. The four fixed triangular blocks are arranged in pairs and are distributed in a bilateral symmetry mode, a side edge plate is fixedly connected between the two fixed triangular blocks in the same group, and two rollers are rotationally connected between the two side edge plates in a front-back symmetry mode. According to the facial mask detection device, the mode of double-face lighting and double-face shooting collection is adopted, the accuracy of collected images is improved, meanwhile, the detection accuracy is improved, when a defective facial mask is detected, suction is conducted through the suction mechanism, the defective facial mask is sucked into the collection box to be collected, and automatic removal of the defective facial mask is achieved.

The invention discloses a mask pattern optimization method and device, electronic equipment and a storage medium, and the method comprises the steps: carrying out the rule inspection and optimization of an initial mask pattern based on an initial mask inspection rule. And performing rule inspection on the derivative mask pattern generated after the initial optimization, and when the derivative mask pattern is determined not to conform to the inspection rule, re-optimizing the initial mask pattern before optimization. And then rule matching can be carried out again, and the optimized mask pattern which does not meet the check rule is optimized again. According to the technical scheme, the influence of the derivative graph on the mask graph is fully considered, and the processing efficiency and practicability of the mask graph optimization process are effectively improved. And meanwhile, the mask inspection rule selected during each mask optimization can accurately correspond to the mask pattern, so that the detection precision and efficiency in the mask manufacturing rule inspection process are effectively improved, and a powerful guarantee is provided for the production quality and the chip yield in the subsequent chip production process.

The invention relates to an assembly (30) for semiconductor technology, comprising a module (32) and a module frame (33). The module (32) is connected to the module frame (33) by means of a support element (34) and is positioned relative to the module frame (33) by means of the support element (34). The connecting piece (35) comprises a clamping device (56, 58) which prevents the module (32) from being lifted from the module frame (33). According to the invention, the support element (34) has a clamping force element (50) for transmitting a clamping force generated by the clamping device (56, 58) and a positioning element (60) for positioning the module (32) relative to the module frame (33). Furthermore, the invention relates to a projection exposure system (1, 101) and a mask inspection device comprising the assembly according to the invention.

A mask inspection device, comprising a vacuum housing, an EUV camera and, arranged in the interior of the vacuum housing, a projection lens for imaging at least one portion of an EUV photomask onto an image sensor of the EUV camera. The EUV camera is mounted on the vacuum housing. The mask inspection device comprises an actuator for adjusting the position of the EUV camera, wherein the actuator acts on a conversion member arranged between the vacuum housing and the EUV camera. The conversion member converts an actuation travel of the actuator into an adjusting travel of the EUV camera, wherein the actuation travel is longer than the adjusting travel. The invention also relates to a method for adjusting a mask inspection device.

The invention relates to a mask inspection device, a vacuum sealing component and a method for adjusting a mask inspection device. A mask inspection device according to the invention comprises a vacuum housing (106, 306, 406), an EUV camera (310, 410) attached to the vacuum housing (106, 306, 406), and a projection lens (460) arranged in a vacuum chamber (330, 430) of the vacuum housing for imaging at least a section of an EUV mask (470) onto an image sensor (311, 411) of the EUV camera, wherein a vacuum sealing component having a flexible wall section (103, 303) is arranged between the vacuum housing and the EUV camera or a camera mount (107, 307) of this EUV camera, and wherein this flexible wall section is arranged radially outside a central axis (140, 340) of the EUV camera or the camera mount.

According to one aspect of the present invention, an electron beam mask inspection apparatus, includes: a first electrode plate in which an opening is formed, arranged between an objective lens and a mask substrate, an electron beam passing through the opening; a mark arranged above a stage so as to be spaced apart from the mask substrate and having a figure pattern formed on its surface; and a second electrode plate arranged at a height position lower than the first electrode plate and equal to or higher than a height position of the surface of the mask substrate, the second electrode plate being arranged so as to cover a gap between the mask substrate and the mark, wherein a same potential as the first potential applied to the surface of the mask substrate is applied to the first electrode plate, the mark, and the second electrode plate.

An energy detection assembly (78) is suitable for an illumination system of a mask inspection system for use with EUV illumination light (3). The assembly (78) has at least one EUV energy sensor device (77) that is embodied such that it captures energy of the illumination light (3) guided along an illumination light beam path. The EUV energy sensor device (77) has at least one energy value sensor and at least one energy variation sensor (79). The energy value sensor serves to capture an illumination energy of the illumination light (3) over an exposure period. The energy variation sensor (79) serves to capture a temporal development of the illumination energy of the illumination light (3) over the exposure period. This results in an energy detection assembly, by means of which an inspection accuracy of the mask inspection system can be improved.

A mask inspection device comprising a vacuum housing (28), an EUV camera (23), and a projection lens (22) arranged inside the vacuum housing (28) for imaging a section (20) of an EUV photomask (17) onto an image sensor (24) of the EUV camera (23). The EUV camera (23) is attached to the vacuum housing (28). The mask inspection device comprises an actuator (50) for adjusting the position of the EUV camera (23), wherein the actuator (50) acts on a transmission element (43) arranged between the vacuum housing (28) and the EUV camera (23). The transmission element (43) translates an actuation path (48) of the actuator (50) into an adjustment path (47) of the EUV camera (23), wherein the actuation path (48) is longer than the adjustment path (47). The invention also relates to a method for adjusting a mask inspection device.