USE OF ION IMPLANTATION IN CHEMICAL ETCHING
Granted: November 15, 2007
Application Number:
20070264831
A method for controlling chemical dry etching to improve smoothness of an etched surface is disclosed. Ions are implanted into a surface to form a volatilizable compound at a temperature low enough to avoid, reduce, or eliminate formation of three-dimensional structures of the volatilizable compound that might create the roughness at an etched surface of the volatilizable compound. The ions are applied in a sufficient energy to penetrate to a predetermined depth of material that is to be…
Broad band objective having improved lateral color performance
Granted: November 8, 2007
Application Number:
20070258154
A system and method for inspection is disclosed. The design generally employs as many as four design principles, including employing at least one lens from a relatively low dispersion glass, at least one additional lens from an additional material different from the relatively low dispersion glass, generally matching the relatively low dispersion properties of the relatively low dispersion glass. The design also may include at least one further lens from a further material different from…
Z-STAGE WITH DYNAMICALLY DRIVEN STAGE MIRROR AND CHUCK ASSEMBLY
Granted: October 25, 2007
Application Number:
20070247778
Substrate support apparatus and methods are disclosed. Motion of a substrate chuck relative to a stage mirror may be dynamically compensated by sensing a displacement of the substrate chuck relative to the stage mirror and coupling a signal proportional to the displacement in one or more feedback loops with Z stage actuators and/or XY stage actuators coupled to the stage mirror. Alternatively, a substrate support apparatus may include a Z stage plate a stage mirror, one or more actuators…
Detection and ablation of localized shunting defects in photovoltaics
Granted: October 4, 2007
Application Number:
20070227586
Increasing the efficiency of a photovoltaic stack by locating a position of a relatively small region in the photovoltaic stack that shunts the photocurrent generated within a substantially larger region of the photovoltaic stack, and electrically isolating at least a portion of the photovoltaic stack in the position of the localized shunting defect, so as to substantially remove any shunting effect caused by the localized shunting defect.
Computer-Implemented Methods and Systems for Determining a Configuration for a Light Scattering Inspection System
Granted: October 4, 2007
Application Number:
20070229809
Computer-implemented methods and systems for determining a configuration for a light scattering inspection system are provided. One computer-implemented method includes determining a three-dimensional map of signal-to-noise ratio values for data that would be acquired for a specimen and a potential defect on the specimen by the light scattering inspection system across a scattering hemisphere of the inspection system. The method also includes determining one or more portions of the…
Systems and Methods for Measuring One or More Characteristics of Patterned Features on a Specimen
Granted: October 4, 2007
Application Number:
20070229852
Systems and methods for measuring one or more characteristics of patterned features on a specimen are provided. One system includes an optical subsystem configured to acquire measurements of light scattered from the patterned features on the specimen at multiple angles of incidence, multiple azimuthal angles, and multiple wavelengths simultaneously. The system also includes a processor configured to determine the one or more characteristics of the patterned features from the…
Method and apparatus for inspecting a substrate
Granted: October 4, 2007
Application Number:
20070230768
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.
System And Method For Coherent Optical Inspection
Granted: August 23, 2007
Application Number:
20070195332
A system and method for coherent optical inspection are described. In one embodiment, an illuminating beam illuminates a sample, such as a semiconductor wafer, to generate a reflected beam. A reference beam then interferes with the reflected beam to generate an interference pattern at a detector, which records the interference pattern. The interference pattern may then be compared with a comparison image to determine differences between the interference pattern and the comparison image.…
Optical Scanning System For Surface Inspection
Granted: August 16, 2007
Application Number:
20070188744
In an optical scanning system for detecting particles and pattern defects on a sample surface, a light beam is focused to an illuminated spot on the surface and the spot is scanned across the surface along a scan line. A detector is positioned adjacent to the surface to collect scattered light from the spot where the detector includes a one- or two-dimensional array of sensors. Light scattered from the illuminated spot at each of a plurality of positions along the scan line is focused…
Backside contamination inspection device
Granted: August 16, 2007
Application Number:
20070188745
A system for simultaneously inspecting the frontsides and backsides of semiconductor wafers for defects is disclosed. The system rotates the semiconductor wafer while the frontside and backside surfaces are generally simultaneously optically scanned for defects. Rotation is induced by providing contact between the beveled edges of the semiconductor wafer and roller bearings rotationally driven by a motor. The wafer is supported in a tilted or semi-upright orientation such that support is…
Broad band DUV, VUV long-working distance catadioptric imaging system
Granted: July 26, 2007
Application Number:
20070171547
A high performance objective having very small central obscuration, an external pupil for apertureing and Fourier filtering, loose manufacturing tolerances, large numerical aperture, long working distance, and a large field of view is presented. The objective is preferably telecentric. The design is ideally suited for both broad-band bright-field and laser dark field imaging and inspection at wavelengths in the UV to VUV spectral range.
STRUCTURAL MODIFICATION USING ELECTRON BEAM ACTIVATED CHEMICAL ETCH
Granted: July 12, 2007
Application Number:
20070158303
Structural modification using electron beam activated chemical etch (EBACE) is disclosed. A target or portion thereof may be exposed to a gas composition of a type that etches the target when the gas composition and/or target are exposed to an electron beam. By directing an electron beam toward the target in the vicinity of the gas composition, an interaction between the electron beam and the gas composition etches a portion of the target exposed to both the gas composition and the…
ETCH SELECTIVITY ENHANCEMENT IN ELECTRON BEAM ACTIVATED CHEMICAL ETCH
Granted: July 12, 2007
Application Number:
20070158304
Etch selectivity enhancement during electron beam activated chemical etch (EBACE) is disclosed. A target or portion thereof may be exposed to a gas composition of a type that etches the target when the gas composition and/or target are exposed to an electron beam. By directing an electron beam toward the target in the vicinity of the gas composition, an interaction between the electron beam and the gas composition etches a portion of the target exposed to both the gas composition and the…
THREE-DIMENSIONAL IMAGING USING ELECTRON BEAM ACTIVATED CHEMICAL ETCH
Granted: July 12, 2007
Application Number:
20070158562
Methods and apparatus for imaging a structure and a related processor-readable medium are disclosed. A surface of a substrate (or a portion thereof) is exposed to a gas composition. The gas composition includes one or more components that etch the substrate upon activation by interaction with a beam of electrons. A beam of electrons is directed to one or more portions of the surface of the substrate that are exposed to the gas composition to etch the one or more portions. A plurality of…
Simultaneous Multi-Spot Inspection and Imaging
Granted: July 5, 2007
Application Number:
20070153265
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…
Peak power and speckle contrast reduction for a single layer pulse
Granted: July 5, 2007
Application Number:
20070153393
A system and method for reducing peak power of a laser pulse and reducing speckle contrast of a single pulse comprises a plurality of beamsplitters, mirrors and delay elements oriented to split and delay a pulse or pulses transmitted from a light emitting device. The design provides the ability to readily divide the pulse into multiple pulses by delaying the components relative to one another. Reduction of speckle contrast entails using the same or similar components to the power…
Pattern recognition matching for bright field imaging of low contrast semiconductor devices
Granted: June 21, 2007
Application Number:
20070139645
Calibration of pattern recognition in bright field imaging systems is disclosed. A target pattern on a substrate on the stage is brought into focus of a bright field system. The image is scanned in a first direction while measuring an edge scattering pattern from a feature of the target pattern. The edge scattering pattern is characterized by first and second peaks. A position of the bright field system's illuminator or beam shaping and relay optics is adjusted perpendicular to an…
Excimer laser inspection system
Granted: May 31, 2007
Application Number:
20070121107
A system and method for inspecting a specimen, such as a semiconductor wafer, including illuminating at least a portion of the specimen using an excimer source using at least one relatively intense wavelength from the source, detecting radiation received from the illuminated portion of the specimen, analyzing the detected radiation for potential defects present in the specimen portion.
Status Polling
Granted: May 31, 2007
Application Number:
20070124095
An inspection system for detecting anomalies on a substrate. The inspection system has a sensor array for generating image data. A first high speed network is coupled to the sensor array and receives and communicates the image data. An array of process nodes is coupled to the first high speed network, and receives and processes the image data to produce anomaly reports. Each process node has an interface card coupled to the first high speed network, that receives the image data from the…
High throughput darkfield/brightfield wafer inspection system using advanced optical techniques
Granted: May 24, 2007
Application Number:
20070115461
The broadband brightfield/darkfield wafer inspection system provided receives broadband brightfield illumination information via a defect detector, which signals for initiation of darkfield illumination. The defect detector forms a two dimensional histogram of the defect data and a dual mode defect decision algorithm and post processor assess defects. Darkfield radiation is provided by two adjustable height laser beams which illuminate the surface of the wafer from approximately 6 to 39…
