Optical Aberration Compensation in Semiconductor Wafer Inspection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Semiconductor wafer inspection systems face challenges in maintaining imaging performance due to factors like lens heating and pressure changes, which cause aberrations and degrade imaging quality.
Innovation Solution
An inspection system equipped with a processor that measures and compensates for optical component aberrations by adjusting the optical component, using methods such as lens decenter manipulators and glass plate adjustments to maintain optimal imaging performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the inspection system operates continuously, then productivity is improved, but imaging performance degrades due to lens heating and pressure changes
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors imaging performance parameters and feeds this information back to the control processor, which automatically adjusts optical components to compensate for degradation caused by continuous operation, thereby maintaining reliable imaging performance while sustaining high productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts optical component parameters in real-time during continuous operation to compensate for changes caused by lens heating and pressure variations, allowing the system to adapt to changing conditions and maintain imaging performance throughout extended inspection cycles
2Reliability
If the system compensates for aberrations in real-time, then imaging performance is maintained, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control processor performs multiple functions including measuring imaging performance, calculating aberrations, determining adjustment parameters, and controlling optical components, thereby maintaining imaging performance through a single multi-functional device rather than adding separate specialized components for each function
Data Source
AI summary
An inspection system may include an optical component configured to deliver inspection light to a subject and a detector configured to obtain an image of the subject based on the inspection light delivered to the subject. The inspection system may also include a processor in communication with the optical component and the detector. The processor may be configured to: measure an aberration of the optical component based on the image of the subject obtained by the detector; and adjust the optical component to compensate for a change in the aberration.