Inspection Error Diagnosis Using Recipe and Log Learning

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing diagnosis systems for inspection devices like CD-SEMs struggle to accurately identify error causes due to multiple or composite error causes, including variations in manufacturing conditions and external or device changes, and initial recipe settings may not be suitable for measurements.

Innovation Solution

A diagnosis system that uses a learning device to analyze recipe data, log data, and sample data to estimate error causes, employing techniques such as neural networks for predictive diagnosis and error prediction.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If a learning device is introduced to diagnose error causes, then the accuracy of error cause specification is improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveerror cause specification accuracyVSAvoiddiagnosis system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

A learning device acts as an intermediary between the inspection device and the diagnosis system. The learning device receives log data from the inspection device and learns the relationship between log data patterns and error causes, then outputs diagnosed error causes to the diagnosis system. This intermediary approach improves diagnosis accuracy without requiring direct complex integration between all system components.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The learning device creates a virtual model or copy of the error diagnosis process by learning from historical log data and error cause information. Instead of directly analyzing complex raw data, the system uses this learned model to infer error causes, simplifying the actual diagnosis operation while maintaining high accuracy.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

2Reliability

If multiple types of data are analyzed to identify error causes, then the reliability of diagnosis is improved, but the loss of time for data processing increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvediagnosis reliabilityVSAvoiddata processing time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The learning device performs preliminary learning actions by training on historical log data and error cause information before actual diagnosis operations. This pre-learning process enables the system to quickly diagnose error causes in real-time operations without requiring extensive processing of multiple data types during actual use, thus maintaining high reliability while reducing processing time.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system implements feedback mechanisms where diagnosis results are fed back into the learning device to continuously improve the learned model. This feedback loop allows the system to refine its error cause specification accuracy over time based on accumulated data, improving reliability without proportionally increasing processing time as the model becomes more efficient.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Data Source

PatentUS11899437B2Diagnostic system
Publication Date: 2024.02.13 HITACHI HIGH TECH CORP
  • US11899437B2 patent drawing
  • US11899437B2 patent drawing
  • US11899437B2 patent drawing

AI summary

The present disclosure proposes a diagnostic system capable of properly identifying the cause of even an error for which multiple factors or multiple compound factors may be accountable. The diagnostic system according to the present disclosure is provided with a learning device for learning at least one of a recipe defining operations of an inspection device, log data describing states of the device, or specimen data describing characteristics of a specimen in association with error types of the device, and estimates the cause of the error by using the learning device (refer to FIG. 4).