Pattern Defect Inspection Region Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
As semiconductor processes miniaturize and become more complex, the detection of fine pattern defects on substrates becomes increasingly challenging, requiring more stringent inspection methods to prevent electrical defects in semiconductor devices.
Innovation Solution
A pattern defect inspection device and method that utilizes a processor to set inspection regions based on a pattern layout, employs binary search to find defect patterns, arranges regions by defect count, removes overlapping regions, and selects a final inspection region to optimize field of view and measurement time, ensuring efficient and accurate defect detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the inspection apparatus inspects the entire pattern layout, then the detection accuracy is improved, but the inspection time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pattern layout is divided into multiple inspection regions, allowing the inspection apparatus to focus on specific areas rather than scanning the entire layout. This segmentation enables selective inspection of regions containing defect patterns, thereby maintaining detection accuracy while significantly reducing overall inspection time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary analysis to identify regions containing defect patterns before the actual inspection. By using binary search to locate defect patterns and pre-determining which regions require inspection, the system prepares inspection targets in advance, avoiding unnecessary scanning of defect-free areas and thus reducing inspection time while preserving detection accuracy.
2Reliability
If multiple inspection regions are set to cover all defect patterns, then the detection coverage is improved, but the number of overlapping regions increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts and removes overlapping regions from the set of inspection regions. By identifying regions that would be covered by multiple inspection areas and eliminating the redundant ones, the system maintains complete detection coverage while reducing the total number of inspection regions and simplifying the inspection process.
3Productivity
If the field of view size is increased to reduce the number of inspection regions, then the inspection efficiency is improved, but the measurement precision decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different field of view sizes to different inspection regions based on their characteristics. Regions containing defect patterns are inspected with appropriate field of view sizes that balance coverage and precision, while defect-free regions are either skipped or inspected with larger fields of view. This localized approach optimizes the trade-off between inspection efficiency and detection precision for each specific region.
Data Source
AI summary
A pattern defect inspection device includes an inspection apparatus inspecting a pattern on a substrate, a database storing a pattern layout including a plurality of defect patterns from the inspection apparatus, a preset field of view (FOV) size, and a target measurement number, and a processor setting a plurality of inspection regions of the inspection apparatus based on the pattern layout, wherein the processor includes a defect search unit searching for a region defect pattern existing in any one of a plurality of inspection regions in the pattern layout, an inspection region aligning unit arranging the plurality of inspection regions based on the region defect pattern, an overlapping region removal unit removing an overlapping region from the plurality of inspection regions, and an inspection region selecting unit selecting an inspection region other than the overlapping region, among the plurality of inspection regions, as a final inspection region.