JP2008033306A - Defect correcting device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a defect correcting device capable of efficiently correcting defect while lightening the burden on an operator. <P>SOLUTION: Prior to correction of defect, a stage 2 moves a substrate 1 two-dimensionally to a position where the defect are put in the visual field area of an objective 14. A camera 5 generates an image signal based upon incident light and outputs it to a controller 6. An image processing section 62 generates thumbnail image data based upon a review inspection image signal. A main controller 65 relates thumbnail image data of a review inspection image to defect data and stores the thumbnail image data into a storage section 66. When an instruction to start correction is sent, the main controller 65 reads thumbnail image data of all defect to be reviewed from the storage section 66 and outputs them to a display 7. The display 7 displays thumbnail images formed by reducing review inspection images of the respective defect based upon the thumbnail image data. Defect selected by the operator having confirmed display of the review inspection images is irradiated with laser beam. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a defect correction apparatus that corrects a defect by irradiating a laser on the defect on a substrate.

Generally, a defect correcting device that corrects a defect generated on a substrate such as a large glass substrate or a semiconductor substrate by a laser beam in a photolithography manufacturing process for manufacturing a flat panel display (FPD) such as a liquid crystal display device or a semiconductor wafer. (See, for example, Patent Document 1). In a conventional defect correction device, a substrate manufactured in the manufacturing process is subjected to image processing of the image data of the defective portion by an inspection device, and the defect on the substrate is a pseudo defect that does not affect the next manufacturing process or is a true defect that needs to be corrected. Some of them automatically determine whether the defect is a defect and correct the defect based on the determination result. However, the defect inspection apparatus cannot avoid the erroneous determination depending on the setting conditions of the determination criteria such as the type, size, and position of the defect, and the determination accuracy of the defect classification is limited. Therefore, it is possible for the operator to perform detailed observation (review) of the defects detected by the macro inspection using a micro inspection device such as a microscope, and to select the defect to be corrected from the defects detected at the time of the macro inspection. It has been broken.
JP 2001-91919 A

  Conventionally, an operator reviews all defects, decides whether or not to correct the defect, and when correcting the defect, operates the defect correcting device to irradiate the defective portion with laser light to correct the defect. is doing. At the time of reviewing each defect, the stage on which the substrate is placed is moved in the X and Y directions, and all the defects to be determined whether or not to correct are moved to the observation position of the microscope and observed. Since the operator always works in front of the defect correction apparatus and has to be careful about the operation of the defect correction apparatus and the defect observation, the load on the operator is large. Further, the tact time of the defect correcting device depends on the number of defects to be processed, and it is inefficient to repeat the review, determination of necessity of correction, and correction of the defect in this order.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a defect correction apparatus that can reduce the load on an operator and efficiently correct a defect.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and in a defect correction apparatus for correcting a defect on a substrate, defect position information of inspection data of the substrate inspected in an inspection process prior to the correction process. Based on the above, an imaging unit that images the defect to be reviewed, a display unit that displays a reduced list of each defect review inspection image captured by the imaging unit, and a previous review inspection that is displayed as a list by the display unit A defect selection unit that selects a defect to be corrected from an image, a defect correction unit that corrects a previous defect selected by the defect selection unit, a control unit that controls the imaging unit, the display unit, and the defect correction unit; It is provided with.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce an operator's load and to effectively correct a defect.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a defect correction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The substrate 1 is an FPD glass substrate, a semiconductor wafer substrate, or the like to be corrected. The stage 2 includes a two-dimensional movement mechanism that supports the substrate 1 and moves the substrate 1 in the X and Y directions orthogonal to each other. The illumination light source 3 is a light source for defect observation. Light from the illumination light source 3 passes through the lens 12, is reflected by the beam splitter 13, and is irradiated onto the substrate 1 through the objective lens 14. A review inspection unit for enlarging a defect is configured by at least the illumination light source 3 and the objective lens 14 of the illumination light source 3, the lens 12, the beam splitter 13, and the objective lens 14.

  The laser light source 4 outputs a laser beam for correcting the defect. Laser light from the laser light source 4 is reflected by the mirror 8, passes through the lens 9 and the beam splitters 11 and 13, and is irradiated onto the defect on the substrate 1 through the objective lens 14. At least the laser light source 4 and the objective lens 14 of the laser light source 4, the mirror 8, the beam splitters 11 and 13, and the objective lens 14 constitute a defect correcting portion. The camera 5 is an imaging device including an imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), for example, and generates an image signal based on an optical image of a subject (substrate 1). The light from the illumination light source 3 reflected by the surface of the substrate 1 enters the light receiving surface of the camera 5 through the objective lens 14, the beam splitters 13 and 11, and the lens 10.

  The control device 6 has a function of controlling the entire defect correction device, and includes a laser control unit 61, an image processing unit 62, a stage control unit 63, an operation unit 64, a main control unit 65, and a storage unit 66. Yes. Although not shown, the control device 6 communicates with an external device (for example, an inspection data server that manages inspection data indicating an inspection result inspected in an upstream source-side inspection process prior to the correction process). For example, the communication interface is configured.

  In the control device 6, the laser control unit 61 controls the on / off of the laser light source 4 and the energy of the laser light output when the laser light is turned on by controlling the voltage applied to the laser light source 4. . The image processing unit 62 generates reduced thumbnail image data by thinning out the defect image signal output from the camera 5. The stage control unit 63 controls the driving of the stage 2.

  The operation unit 64 includes a keyboard and a mouse operated by an operator, and generates a signal based on the operation result. The main control unit 65 performs calculations, data input / output control, and the like for controlling the entire control device 6 including the above-described configuration. The storage unit 66 is a semiconductor memory or a hard disk drive in which inspection data for each defect, thumbnail image data, and the like are stored. The display 7 is a display means such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display or a liquid crystal display for displaying thumbnail images and defect data.

  Next, the operation of the defect correction apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the defect correction apparatus. The control device 6 of the defect correction apparatus acquires inspection data (defect list, defect data) of the entire substrate inspected in the inspection process upstream from the correction process from the inspection data server via a communication line (not shown). The data is stored in the storage unit 66 (step S201). The inspection data includes data indicating coordinates (position information) indicating the position of the defect, the size of the defect, and the type of the defect. When the operator operates the operation unit 64 to instruct a review inspection, the operation unit 64 outputs a signal based on the instruction from the operator to the main control unit 65. When the main control unit 65 detects this signal, it outputs an operation instruction to each unit of the control device 6.

  The main control unit 65 reads the inspection data of the substrate 1 from the storage unit 66, classifies it into a pseudo defect that does not need to be corrected and a true defect that needs to be corrected based on data such as the size and position of the defect, and indicates it by the inspection data. The defect to be reviewed is selected from the defects to be corrected. The main control unit 65 notifies the stage control unit 63 of the coordinates of one of the selected defects, and instructs the stage 2 to move. Upon receiving the instruction, the stage controller 63 drives the stage 2 and controls the amount of movement based on the notified defect coordinates. The stage 2 moves the substrate 1 to a position where the selected defect enters the field of view of the objective lens 14 (step S202).

  The light from the illumination light source 3 is reflected by the substrate 1 and enters the light receiving surface of the camera 5 as described above. The camera 5 images the defect enlarged to a predetermined magnification by the objective lens 14, generates this review inspection image signal, and outputs it to the control device 6. The review inspection image signal input to the control device 6 is input to the image processing unit 62. The image processing unit 62 generates thumbnail image data based on the review inspection image signal and outputs the thumbnail image data to the main control unit 65. The main control unit 65 stores the thumbnail image data of the review inspection image in the storage unit 66 in association with the defect data (step S203).

  Subsequently, the main control unit 65 determines whether or not there is a defect to be reviewed that has not yet been subjected to the image storage (step S204). If the defect to be reviewed still remains, the process returns to step S202, and the above process is repeated. On the other hand, when the thumbnail image data of all the defects selected as the review target are stored in the storage unit 66, the review operation is terminated, and the process proceeds to the next step S205. As described above, the review operation for capturing all the defects based on the position information of the defect to be reviewed detected in the previous inspection process and storing the review inspection image is automatically performed.

  When a correction start instruction is issued, the main control unit 65 reads out thumbnail image data (or a part of thumbnail image data) of all the review target defects from the storage unit 66 and outputs the thumbnail image data to the display 7. To do. Based on the input thumbnail image data, the display 7 displays the review inspection image 308 of each defect as a reduced thumbnail image, for example, in a list format as shown in FIG. 3 (step S205). The operator visually confirms the thumbnail images of the review inspection images displayed in a list, and operates the mouse of the operation unit 64 to move and select the review inspection image on which the defect to be corrected is displayed. . At this time, the operator can select a plurality of defects that need correction from the review inspection images displayed in a list. A signal based on an operation by the operator is output from the operation unit 64 to the main control unit 65. The main control unit 65 selects a defect to be corrected based on the signal (step S206).

  Subsequently, the main control unit 65 notifies the stage control unit 63 of the coordinates of one of the selected defects, and instructs the stage 2 to move. Upon receiving the instruction, the stage controller 63 drives the stage 2 and controls the amount of movement based on the notified defect coordinates. The stage 2 moves the substrate 1 to a position where the selected defect enters the field of view of the objective lens 14 (step S207). Subsequently, the main control unit 65 instructs the laser control unit 61 on the laser irradiation position and shape for the defect. Upon receiving the instruction, the laser control unit 61 controls the laser output from the laser light source 4. A laser beam from the laser light source 4 is applied to the defect on the substrate 1 to perform a desired defect correction (step S208).

  Subsequently, the main control unit 65 determines whether or not there is a defect to be corrected that has not been subjected to the above-described defect correction (step S209). If the defect to be corrected still remains, the process returns to step S207 and the above process is repeated. On the other hand, when the irradiation of the laser beam with respect to all the defects selected as the correction target is finished, a series of operations is finished.

  As mentioned above, in the past, each defect was reviewed one by one with a microscope and the necessity of defect correction was determined each time, so the operator always worked in front of the defect correction device, The operator's load was heavy. On the other hand, according to this embodiment, based on the coordinate data of each defect detected by the upstream inspection apparatus, the defect review operation is automatically performed, and the defect imaged by the review operation is performed. Thumbnail images are displayed as a list on the display 7, and based on the display, the operator selects the defect to be corrected at a time, so that the operation burden on the operator can be reduced.

  In addition, the operator does not need to be in front of the defect correction device while the defect correction device automatically reviews and images the defect based on the defect coordinate data detected in the previous inspection process. It becomes possible to operate other devices during the operation, and the work can be performed efficiently. Of course, since one operator can operate a plurality of defect correction devices, defect correction can be performed efficiently.

  In addition, by displaying thumbnail images of each defect imaged in the review on the display 7 as a list, the operator can visually grasp the number of defects and the state / trend of defects. In the manufacturing process, it is desirable to shorten the time required for defect correction (correction processing time). However, as described above, the operator can grasp the number of defects and the state / trend of defects. However, it is possible to efficiently select the defect to be corrected in consideration of the correction processing time. For example, when it is necessary to minimize the correction processing time, the operator needs to select only important defects that are a problem in the subsequent manufacturing process, and when there is a margin in time, Defects other than important defects may be selected.

  In step S208, thumbnail images of the pre-correction image and the post-correction image obtained by capturing the substrate 1 before and after correcting the defect by irradiating the laser beam with the camera 5 may be generated. In this case, the laser control unit 61 turns off the laser output of the laser light source 4. The camera 5 images the surface of the substrate 1 before and after laser irradiation, generates an image signal, and outputs it to the control device 6. The image processing unit 62 of the control device 6 generates thumbnail image data before and after defect correction based on the image signal and outputs the thumbnail image data to the main control unit 65. The main control unit 65 stores the thumbnail image data in the storage unit 66 as thumbnail image data after laser irradiation associated with thumbnail image data before laser irradiation.

  The main control unit 65 reads, for example, the thumbnail image data after laser irradiation from the storage unit 66 and outputs the thumbnail image data to the display 7 after irradiation of the laser light to all defects to be corrected. Based on the thumbnail image data, the display 7 displays the thumbnail image 310 after the corrected image together with the thumbnail image 312 of the image before the correction in a list format as shown in FIG. Thus, the operator can visually check the corrected image and confirm whether or not the correction has been performed correctly. If there is a defect that needs to be corrected again, the defect may be re-registered as a defect to be corrected, and the above-described process may be repeated again.

  Next, an example of a screen displayed on the display 7 will be described. FIG. 3 shows an example of the display screen. The repair start button 301 is a button for inputting the start of laser correction for the selected defect. When the operator operates the mouse, for example, moves the cursor 300 to the repair start button 301 and clicks the mouse, the processing after step S206 in FIG. 2 is started. The repair interruption button 302 is a button for inputting interruption of laser correction. When the operator places the cursor 300 on the repair interruption button 302 and clicks the mouse in the same manner as described above, the irradiation of the laser light is interrupted.

  The add button 303 is a button for registering (adding) the defect to be corrected in the defect correcting apparatus. The selection / deletion button 304 is a button for canceling registration of an arbitrary defect from defects registered in the defect correction apparatus as defects to be corrected. The all deletion button 305 has a function similar to that of the selection deletion button 304, and is a button for canceling the registration of all defects registered in the defect correction apparatus as defects to be corrected. The end button 306 is a button for ending all operations.

  The review inspection image column 307 is an area for displaying a review inspection image obtained by imaging the defect to be processed by the camera 5 during the review operation. In FIG. 3, thumbnail images 308a to 308e obtained by reducing the review inspection image are displayed as a list. When the operator operates the mouse which is the defect selection unit and moves the cursor 300 to any of the thumbnail images 308a to 308e and clicks the mouse, and further moves the cursor 300 to the add button 303 and clicks the mouse, the designated review inspection is performed. The defect to be corrected displayed in the image 308c is registered in the defect correction apparatus, and the frame of the registered thumbnail image is highlighted with a color, a thick line, or the like. In FIG. 3, thumbnail images 308 a, 308 c, and 308 d whose frames are highlighted with thick lines are registered as defects to be corrected.

  When the repair start button 301 is clicked, defect correction is performed for the defect displayed in the thumbnail image selected in the review inspection image field 307. When selecting the review inspection images 308a to 308e, the operator may select one review inspection image by placing the cursor 300 on the thumbnail image of the review inspection images displayed in a list on the display 7 and clicking. Then, the operator may select a plurality of review inspection images by dragging the mouse.

  The pre-correction image column 309 is an area for displaying a thumbnail image before defect correction, which is captured by the camera 5 before irradiating the defect registered as a correction target, with the review inspection image 308. In FIG. 3, thumbnails 310a, 310c, and 310d corresponding to the thumbnails 308a, 308c, and 308d are displayed. The corrected image column 311 is an area for displaying a thumbnail image after correction (after laser irradiation) of a defect registered as a correction target in association with a review inspection image or an image before correction. In FIG. 3, modified thumbnails 312a, 312c, and 312d corresponding to the thumbnails 310a, 310c, and 310d are displayed.

  The defect list column 313 is an area for displaying defect data (coordinates, size, etc.) corresponding to each thumbnail displayed in the review inspection image column 307. The defect data corresponding to the thumbnail registered as the correction target is displayed in a color different from the defect data corresponding to the unregistered thumbnail, for example.

  Note that when the defect in the thumbnail image is small and difficult to see, if the operator designates enlargement by double-clicking the cursor 300 on an arbitrary thumbnail image on the review inspection image field 307, for example, before the reduction process corresponding to the thumbnail, The review inspection image may be read from the storage unit 66 and enlarged and displayed. Alternatively, when the operator double-clicks the cursor 300 on the thumbnail on the review inspection image field 307, the defect displayed on the thumbnail image is picked up again by the camera 5 and the defect inspection inspection image is displayed. Also good.

  When the image of the defect is displayed again, the main control unit 65 detects the signal output from the operation unit 64 and determines which defect has been selected as the imaging target again based on the signal. To do. The main control unit 65 identifies the coordinates of the defect based on the inspection data stored in the storage unit 66, notifies the coordinates to the stage control unit 63, and instructs the stage 2 to move. Upon receiving the instruction, the stage controller 63 drives the stage 2 and controls the amount of movement based on the notified defect coordinates. The stage 2 moves the substrate 1 to a position where the selected defect enters the field of view of the objective lens 14.

  The camera 5 images the surface of the substrate 1 to generate an image signal and outputs it to the control device 6. The image processing unit 62 of the control device 6 outputs image data based on the image signal to the main control unit 65. The main control unit 65 outputs the image data to the display 7. The display 7 displays a surface image of the substrate 1 based on the image data. Thereby, the operator can confirm again the defect in the review inspection image newly imaged.

  As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and includes design changes and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention. . For example, in the above-described embodiment, the stage 2 that supports the substrate 1 is moved. However, an optical system including the objective lens 14 may move XY on the substrate 1, and includes the stage 2 and the objective lens 14. The inspection head may be relatively moved in the uniaxial direction in the X direction and the Y direction, respectively. The objective lens 14 may have the same magnification for observation of the substrate 1 and laser irradiation, or may have a different magnification. The original image data before reduction taken by the camera 5 may be recorded together with the thumbnail image data.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the defect correction apparatus by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the defect correction apparatus of this invention. It is a reference figure which shows the example of a display displayed on the screen of the defect correction apparatus of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Board | substrate, 2 ... Stage, 3 ... Illumination light source, 4 ... Laser light source, 5 ... Camera, 6 ... Control apparatus, 7 ... Display, 8 ... Mirror , 9, 10, 12 ... lenses, 11, 13 ... beam splitter, 14 ... objective lens, 61 ... laser control unit, 62 ... image processing unit, 63 ... stage control unit , 64 ... operation unit, 65 ... main control unit, 66 ... storage unit.

Claims (6)

In a defect correction apparatus for correcting defects on a substrate,
Based on the defect position information of the inspection data of the substrate inspected in the inspection process prior to the correction process, an imaging unit that images the defect to be reviewed,
A display unit that reduces and displays a list of each defect review inspection image captured by the imaging unit;
A defect selection unit for selecting defects to be corrected from the previous review image displayed in a list by the display unit;
A defect correcting unit that corrects the previous defect selected by the defect selecting unit;
A defect correction apparatus comprising: the imaging unit, the display unit, and a control unit that controls the defect correction unit. Based on the defect position information of the inspection data, the control unit causes the imaging unit to capture all defects to be reviewed before defect correction of the defect correcting unit, and the review inspection image is reduced by the image processing unit. And generating the reduced image in association with the defect data, storing the reduced image in the storage unit, and reading the reduced image of the review inspection image from the storage unit and displaying the list on the display unit based on a correction start command. Item 2. The defect correction apparatus according to Item 1. The control unit causes the imaging unit to capture an image after correction of the defect corrected by the defect correction unit, and reduces the corrected image captured by the imaging unit to the display unit. The defect correction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein control is performed in association with the review defect image. The control unit causes the imaging unit to capture images before and after the correction of the defect corrected by the defect correction unit, and causes the display unit to reduce the images before and after the correction to reduce the review. The defect correction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the display is performed in association with a defect image. The control unit acquires inspection data of the substrate inspected in an inspection process from an external device, selects a defect to be reviewed that needs to be corrected based on the inspection data, and selects the defect to be reviewed The defect correction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each defect selected as a review target by the imaging unit is imaged based on position information. Based on the defect position information of the inspection data, the control unit causes the imaging unit to capture all defects to be reviewed before defect correction of the defect correction unit, and reduces the review inspection image and the reduced review inspection image. The review inspection image before the reduction process is read out from the storage unit and enlarged and displayed by specifying the review inspection image displayed in a reduced list on the display unit. The defect correcting apparatus according to 1.

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