KLA-Tencor Patent Applications

SIMULTANEOUS MULTI-DIRECTIONAL LASER WAFER INSPECTION

Granted: March 15, 2018
Application Number: 20180073993
Disclosed is apparatus for inspecting a sample. The apparatus includes illumination optics for simultaneously directing a plurality of incident beams at a plurality of azimuth angles towards a sample and collection optics for directing a plurality of field portions of output light from two or more of the plurality of angles towards two or more corresponding sensors. The two or more sensors are arranged for receiving the field portions corresponding to two or more angles and generating…

APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR COMBINED BRIGHTFIELD, DARKFIELD, AND PHOTOTHERMAL INSPECTION

Granted: January 4, 2018
Application Number: 20180003648
Disclosed are methods and apparatus for detecting defects or reviewing defects in a semiconductor sample. The system has a brightfield (BF) module for directing a BF illumination beam onto a sample and detecting an output beam reflected from the sample in response to the BF illumination beam. The system has a modulated optical reflectance (MOR) module for directing a pump and probe beam to the sample and detecting a MOR output beam from the probe spot in response to the pump beam and the…

APPARATUS, TECHNIQUES, AND TARGET DESIGNS FOR MEASURING SEMICONDUCTOR PARAMETERS

Granted: December 14, 2017
Application Number: 20170356853
In one embodiment, apparatus and methods for determining a parameter of a target are disclosed. A target having an imaging structure and a scatterometry structure is provided. An image of the imaging structure is obtained with an imaging channel of a metrology tool. A scatterometry signal is also obtained from the scatterometry structure with a scatterometry channel of the metrology tool. At least one parameter, such as overlay error, of the target is determined based on both the image…

APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR DETECTING OVERLAY ERRORS USING SCATTEROMETRY

Granted: November 23, 2017
Application Number: 20170336198
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 multiple measured optical signals from multiple periodic targets on the sample, and the targets each have a first structure in a first layer and a second structure in a second layer. There are predefined offsets between the first and second structures A scatterometry overlay technique is used to analyze the measured optical signals of…

APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR PREDICTING WAFER-LEVEL DEFECT PRINTABILITY

Granted: October 26, 2017
Application Number: 20170309008
Disclosed are methods and apparatus for qualifying a photolithographic reticle. A reticle inspection tool is used to acquire images at different imaging configurations from each of a plurality of pattern areas of a test reticle. A reticle near field for each of the pattern areas of the test reticle is recovered based on the acquired images from each pattern area of the test reticle. A lithography model is applied to the reticle near field for the test reticle to simulate a plurality of…

APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR FINDING A BEST APERTURE AND MODE TO ENHANCE DEFECT DETECTION

Granted: October 26, 2017
Application Number: 20170307545
Disclosed are methods and apparatus for optimizing a mode of an inspection tool. A first image or signal for each of a plurality of first apertures of the inspection tool is obtained, and each first image or signal pertains to a defect area. For each of a plurality of combinations of the first apertures and their first images or signals, a composite image or signal is obtained. Each composite image or signal is analyzed to determine an optimum one of the combinations of the first…

METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR POLARIZED WAFER INSPECTION

Granted: September 28, 2017
Application Number: 20170276613
Disclosed are methods and apparatus for inspecting a semiconductor sample. This system comprises an illumination optics subsystem for generating and directing an incident beam towards a defect on a surface of a wafer. The illumination optics subsystem includes a light source for generating the incident beam and one or more polarization components for adjusting a ratio and/or a phase difference for the incident beam's electric field components. The system further includes a collection…

MACHINE LEARNING METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INSPECTING RETICLES

Granted: August 3, 2017
Application Number: 20170221190
Apparatus and methods for inspecting a specimen are disclosed. An inspection tool is used at one or more operating modes to obtain images of a plurality of training regions of a specimen, and the training regions are identified as defect-free. Three or more basis training images are derived from the images of the training regions. A classifier is formed based on the three or more basis training images. The inspection system is used at the one or more operating modes to obtain images of a…

SIMULTANEOUS MULTI-SPOT INSPECTION AND IMAGING

Granted: July 20, 2017
Application Number: 20170205358
A compact and versatile multi-spot inspection imaging system employs an objective for focusing an array of radiation beams to a surface and a second reflective or refractive objective having a large numerical aperture for collecting scattered radiation from the array of illuminated spots. The scattered radiation from each illuminated spot is focused to a corresponding optical fiber channel so that information about a scattering may be conveyed to a corresponding detector in a remote…

INSPECTION SYSTEMS AND TECHNIQUES WITH ENHANCED DETECTION

Granted: June 22, 2017
Application Number: 20170176346
Disclosed are methods and apparatus for inspecting semiconductor samples. On an inspection tool, a plurality of different wavelength ranges is selected for different layers of interest of one or more semiconductor samples based on whether such different layers of interest have an absorber type material present within or near such different layers of interest. On the inspection tool, at least one incident beam is directed at the different wavelength ranges towards the different layers of…

MULTI-SPOT SCANNING COLLECTION OPTICS

Granted: April 27, 2017
Application Number: 20170115232
Disclosed are apparatus and methods for inspecting or measuring a specimen. A system comprises an illumination channel for generating and deflecting a plurality of incident beams to form a plurality of spots that scan across a segmented line comprised of a plurality of scan portions of the specimen. The system also includes one or more detection channels for sensing light emanating from a specimen in response to the incident beams directed towards such specimen and collecting a detected…

COMPRESSIVE SENSING FOR METROLOGY

Granted: March 16, 2017
Application Number: 20170076440
Disclosed are apparatus and methods for determining a structure or process parameter value of a target of interest on a semiconductor wafer. A plurality of collection patterns are defined for a spatial light beam controller positioned at a pupil image plane of a metrology tool. For each collection pattern, a signal is collected from a sensor of the metrology tool, and each collected signal represents a combination of a plurality of signals that the spatial light beam controller samples,…

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INSPECTING A SUBSTRATE

Granted: March 16, 2017
Application Number: 20170074810
A method and apparatus for inspection and review of defects is disclosed wherein data gathering is improved. In one embodiment, multiple or segmented detectors are used in a particle beam system.

TECHNIQUES AND SYSTEMS FOR MODEL-BASED CRITICAL DIMENSION MEASUREMENTS

Granted: March 9, 2017
Application Number: 20170069080
A reticle is inspected with an imaging system to obtain a measured image of a structure on the reticle, and the structure has an unknown critical dimension (CD). Using a model, a calculated image is generated using a design database that describes a pattern used to form the structure on the reticle. The model generates the calculated image based on: optical properties of reticle materials of the structure, a computational model of the imaging system, and an adjustable CD. A norm of a…

MONITORING CHANGES IN PHOTOMASK DEFECTIVITY

Granted: February 23, 2017
Application Number: 20170053395
A reticle that is within specifications is inspected to generate baseline candidate defects and their location and size. After using the reticle in photolithography, the reticle is inspected to generate current candidate defects and their location and size. An inspection report of filtered candidate defects and their images is generated so that these candidate defects include a first subset of the current candidate defects and their images and exclude a second subset of the current…

POLYGON-BASED GEOMETRY CLASSIFICATION FOR SEMICONDUCTOR MASK INSPECTION

Granted: February 16, 2017
Application Number: 20170046471
Disclosed are methods and apparatus for providing feature classification for inspection of a photolithographic mask. A design database for fabrication of a mask includes polygons that are each defined by a set of vertices. Any of the polygons that abut each other are grouped together. Any grouped polygons are healed so as to eliminate interior edges of each set of grouped polygons to obtain a polygon corresponding to a covering region of such set of grouped polygons. Geometric…

PERIODIC PATTERNS AND TECHNIQUE TO CONTROL MISALIGNMENT BETWEEN TWO LAYERS

Granted: February 9, 2017
Application Number: 20170038198
A method and system to measure misalignment error between two overlying or interlaced periodic structures are proposed. The overlying or interlaced periodic structures are illuminated by incident radiation, and the diffracted radiation of the incident radiation by the overlying or interlaced periodic structures are detected to provide an output signal. The misalignment between the overlying or interlaced periodic structures may then be determined from the output signal.

METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR SPECKLE SUPPRESSION IN LASER DARK-FIELD SYSTEMS

Granted: January 12, 2017
Application Number: 20170011495
Disclosed are apparatus and methods for detecting defects on a semiconductor sample. The system includes an illumination module for directing a nonzero-order Gaussian illumination beam towards a plurality of locations on a sample and a collection module for detecting light scattered from the sample in response to the nonzero-order Gaussian illumination beams and generating a plurality of output images or signals for each location on the sample. The system further comprises a processor…

Front Quartersphere Scattered Light Analysis

Granted: January 12, 2017
Application Number: 20170010222
A surface inspection system, as well as related components and methods, are provided. The surface inspection system includes a beam source subsystem, a beam scanning subsystem, a workpiece movement subsystem, an optical collection and detection subsystem, and a processing subsystem. The optical collection and detection system features, in the front quartersphere, a light channel assembly for collecting light reflected from the surface of the workpiece, and a front collector and wing…

METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR MEASURING HEIGHT ON A SEMICONDUCTOR WAFER

Granted: December 29, 2016
Application Number: 20160377412
Disclosed are apparatus and methods for determining height of a semiconductor structure. The system includes an illumination module for directing one or more source lines or points towards a specimen having multiple surfaces at different relative heights and a collection module for detecting light reflected from the surfaces. The collection module contains at least two detectors with one slit or pinhole in front of each detector that that are positioned to receive light reflected from…