JP2016139531A - Sample observation, inspection, measurement method, and scanning electron microscope - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a charged particle beam and a method therefor with which it is possible to accurately observe, inspect, and measure an actual sample shape for the problem that when observing, inspecting, and measuring a bottom on a pattern having a large aspect ratio as represented by a hole pattern, the position of the bottom of the hole is misaligned with the position of the top of the pattern and a sample shape cannot be accurately grasped.SOLUTION: There is provided a charged particle beam device for scanning a sample area with a charged particle beam, detecting secondary electrons or refection electrons generated from the sample or both of them, and forming an image. In the charged particle beam device, control is exerted so as to form second image data formed on the basis of the scanning of a second area smaller than a first area using first image data formed on the basis of the scanning of the first area, calculate a first difference between the center of gravity of a diagram corresponding to an upper layer-side shape and the center of gravity of a diagram corresponding to a lower layer-side shape for each of a plurality of patterns included in the first image data, and scan an area that includes a pattern in which the first difference satisfies a prescribed condition as the second area.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a scanning electron microscope that scans a sample with an electron beam to perform observation, inspection, and measurement of the sample, and in particular, scans and charges the electron beam on a pattern with a large aspect ratio formed on a semiconductor wafer, The present invention relates to a method of observing, inspecting, and measuring a pattern by scanning an electron beam on a charged pattern, and a scanning electron microscope.

  BACKGROUND ART A charged particle beam apparatus such as a scanning electron microscope is an apparatus suitable for measuring and observing a pattern formed on a wafer in a sample, particularly a semiconductor device that is becoming finer. Recently, semiconductor devices have been actively developed around 10 nm in order to improve the integration rate per unit area by reducing the pattern width. However, as a result of the increase in development costs and manufacturing equipment costs that cannot be ignored, technological development to form devices in the three-dimensional direction, which is the height direction, has become popular in addition to technological development in the planar direction represented by miniaturization. In particular, it is important to measure and observe a pattern shape having a large aspect ratio (ratio between the depth and width of the pattern formed on the wafer).

  As a method for observing, inspecting, and measuring the bottom of a pattern having a large aspect ratio typified by a deep hole or groove in a scanning electron microscope typified by a length measuring SEM, Patent Document 1 discloses a sample. In order to obtain an observation image with a high S / N ratio in a state in which the image obstruction caused by the charge-up of the surface is removed, on the sample surface for a certain time at a magnification lower than or higher than the desired observation magnification before starting the observation. The electron beam is preliminarily irradiated to the desired observation magnification, and then the electron beam is irradiated to return to the desired observation magnification so that the charged state of the observation region is temporarily balanced. By observing the image using the sensor, the secondary electrons generated from the bottom of a pattern with a large aspect ratio, such as deep holes, are pulled up by an electric field and the signal can be detected by the detector. That technology is described. Whether the sample surface is positively or negatively charged depends on the energy of the irradiated electron beam, and it is known that if the energy is small, it is positively charged, and if the energy is large, it is negatively charged. An example of a technique (hereinafter also referred to as pre-dose) that preliminarily irradiates an electron beam before such electron beam irradiation for observation will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 2 below. explain.

  FIG. 1A is an example of a pattern of a semiconductor device as a sample, and shows a pattern in which deep holes 101 to be observed are repeatedly arranged. Reference numeral 103 denotes a field of view with a desired magnification M0 to be observed, 102 denotes a field of view with a magnification ML lower than the magnification M0 to be observed, and FIG. 1B shows an image of the hole 101 in the field of view 103 with the magnification M0 to be observed.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the observation method using the pre-dose in Patent Document 1. In step 201, the observation magnification M0 is set, and in step 202, the irradiation time t1 at the low magnification ML is set. After switching the magnification from the observation magnification M0 to the low magnification ML in step 203, the electron beam is irradiated for t1 in step 204 (pre-dose). In step 205, the low magnification ML is switched to the observation magnification M0, and in steps 206, 207, and 208, an electron beam is irradiated for observation. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1B, not only the upper portion 104 of the hole 101 but also the bottom portion 105 of the hole 101 can be observed due to the pre-dose effect.

  The effect of pre-dose will be described with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B. A sample including a hole 101 having a large aspect ratio made of an insulator 301 and a substrate 302 is irradiated with a primary electron beam 303, and secondary electrons generated from the sample are detected by a secondary electron detector for image observation. In this case, the detection signal amount of secondary electrons generated in the upper part 304 is sufficient for image observation and does not cause a problem. On the other hand, secondary electrons 306 generated at the bottom portion 305 are prevented from rising due to the negative charge 307 generated by the upper portion 304 due to the irradiation of the primary electron beam 303, so that the amount of detection signal at the secondary electron detector is low. And the bottom 305 cannot be clearly observed as shown in FIG. 3A. On the other hand, when the top 304 is charged with a positive charge 309 by adjusting the energy of the primary electron beam and performing pre-dose, the secondary electrons 306 generated at the bottom 305 are pulled up to the upper surface of the sample. Detection with an electron detector becomes possible, and as a result, clear observation of the bottom 305 together with the upper part 304 can be realized as shown in FIG. 3B.

  In this case, for example, when the surface potential of the observation region is uniformly charged by pre-dose and the primary electron beam is incident perpendicularly to the wafer and the center point of the observation region is observed, charging is performed. The primary electron beam is not refracted by the electric field formed by, so that an ideal specimen surface can be observed, inspected, and measured.

  When observing a high aspect ratio hole as described above using a pre-dose technique, ideally, the primary electron beam 303 is applied to the hole 101 while the upper portion 304 is uniformly charged by the pre-dose. It is known that it is desirable to make it incident perpendicularly (Patent Document 2).

JP-A-5-151927 JP 2009-99540 A

    However, in actuality, when the charge is formed on the sample surface using pre-dose, the charged state of the observation region is not uniform due to the arrangement of the pattern and the shape of the pattern. Secondary electrons generated by beam or electron beam irradiation are affected. As a result, a phenomenon different from the actual sample shape occurs in signal detection represented by secondary electrons and formation of an observation image. For example, the relative position between the upper portion of the hole and the bottom portion of the hole is shifted on the observation image, so that the actual sample shape cannot be accurately observed, inspected, or measured.

  Similarly, when the primary electron beam does not enter the wafer perpendicularly, similarly, the relative positional relationship between the hole top and the hole bottom on the observation image is shifted, and the actual sample shape is accurately observed. Inspection and measurement may not be possible.

  Furthermore, even when the wafer is charged by the primary electron beam irradiation, the charged state in the observation field becomes non-uniform, and the actual sample shape may not be observed, inspected, or measured accurately.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228620 proposes a method of observing one side wall in a hole by obliquely entering a primary electron beam by intentionally shifting the center of a charged region formed by pre-dose. No mention is made of means for solving the shift in the relative positional relationship between the upper part of the hole and the bottom part of the hole on the observation image caused by the oblique incidence.

  As one aspect for solving the above problems, in a charged particle beam apparatus that scans a region of a sample with a charged particle beam and detects an image generated by detecting secondary electrons or reflected electrons generated from the sample or both, Using the first image data formed based on the scanning of the first region, the second image data formed based on the scanning of the second region smaller than the first region is formed, and the first image is formed. A first difference amount between the centroid of the figure corresponding to the upper layer side shape and the centroid of the figure corresponding to the lower layer side shape is calculated for each of the plurality of patterns included in the data, and the first difference amount is a predetermined condition. A control unit that performs control to scan an area including a pattern that satisfies the above as a second area.

  According to the present invention, there is no need to add new hardware resources to the apparatus, for example, regardless of the pattern arrangement or pattern shape, regardless of the incident angle of the primary electron beam to the wafer, or due to irradiation of the primary electron beam. It is possible to provide a charged particle beam apparatus or method for accurately observing, inspecting, and measuring a pattern of a hole or groove having a large aspect ratio regardless of the charged state on the wafer.

The figure which showed the observation image of the hole pattern of a semiconductor device Diagram showing an enlarged observation image of the hole pattern of a semiconductor device The figure shown about the flowchart of the pattern observation using a pre-dose. The figure which showed the secondary electron orbit and surface charge when not performing pre-dose with respect to the hole pattern formed on the wafer with a large aspect ratio. The figure which showed the secondary electron orbit and surface charge at the time of performing a pre-dose with respect to the hole pattern with a large aspect ratio formed on the wafer. The figure which showed the whole structure of the scanning electron microscope in this invention. The figure shown about the flowchart of the pattern observation in this invention. The figure which showed the charge state of the sample surface at the time of a pre-dose, and the electric field behavior of a sample upper part. The figure which showed the secondary electron image observed when predose the hole pattern of the high aspect ratio uniformly arranged on the two-dimensional plane. The figure which showed the secondary electron image observed in the cross-section direction of a wafer when the pattern upper part is charged uniformly by pre-dose, and the observed secondary electron image. Figure showing the secondary electron behavior in the wafer cross-section direction and the observed secondary electron image when the pre-dose pattern top charge is not uniform Explanatory drawing in the case of selecting the pattern suitable for observation in this invention. Explanatory drawing in the case of selecting the pattern suitable for observation in this invention.

  In the following description, when measuring the measurement target pattern using a waveform signal obtained by scanning a charged particle beam with respect to the pattern, the center of gravity of the upper part of the pattern and the bottom of the pattern is extracted from the information obtained based on the waveform signal. By checking the vertical incidence state of the electron beam from the result of calculating the deviation amount, changing the pre-dose scanning position, changing the observation position, or changing and optimizing the control of the primary electron beam of the electron microscope, It is possible to accurately observe, inspect and measure the sample shape.

  FIG. 4 is a structural example of a scanning electron microscope according to the present invention. In the following description, a scanning electron microscope will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to other charged particle beam apparatuses such as a focused ion beam apparatus. In the following description, a semiconductor wafer is described as an example of an observation target using a primary electron beam. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a mask or the like used for transferring a semiconductor pattern may be used as the observation target.

  In the scanning electron microscope, the control / calculation unit 416 controls each of the filament 401, the Wehnelt 403, the anode 404, the condenser lens 405, the objective lens 406, the sample voltage application device 408, and the stage 409, which are electron sources. By controlling the acceleration voltage, which is the irradiation speed of the primary electron beam 402 to the sample 407, and the probe current, which is the irradiation current amount of the primary electron beam 402 to the sample 407, by the Wehnelt 403 and the anode 404, the filament that is an electron source The primary electron beam 402 generated from 401 is accelerated and its intensity is adjusted. The accelerated primary electron beam 402 is focused on the sample 407 by the condenser lens 405 and the objective lens 406. The voltage generated by the sample voltage application device 408 is applied to the stage 409 and the sample 407, and has a function of controlling the acceleration voltage of the primary electron beam 402 when the sample 407 is irradiated. On the other hand, the deviation of the primary electron beam 402 from the center of the objective lens 406 and the astigmatism of the primary electron beam 402 are corrected by the alignment coil 410. The primary electron beam 402 that has passed through the condenser lens 405 is deflected by the deflection coil 411 and controlled so as to scan the sample 407 two-dimensionally. From the sample 407 irradiated with the primary electron beam 402, secondary electrons 412, reflected electrons, X-rays, etc. are generated. Of these, for example, the secondary electrons 412 are detected by the secondary electron detector 413 and converted into electrical signals. Is done. The signal processing unit 414 processes the electrical signal to form an image, and the formed image is stored in the storage device 415 as a secondary electron image through the control / calculation unit 416. At this time, the secondary electron image is stored in the image storage device 415 in such a manner that the control signal of the deflection coil 411 from the control / calculation unit 416 is associated with the two-dimensional scanning on the sample 407 by the primary electron beam 402. Is done. Further, by changing the two-dimensional scanning region on the sample 407 irradiated with the primary electron beam 402, a secondary electron image with a desired magnification can be obtained.

  The control / arithmetic unit 416 reads out the stored predetermined secondary electron image from the storage device 415, finds a place where the target pattern specified by the input device 418 is present, performs evaluation / measurement, and stores the result. Save to device 415.

  Further, at a specific location of the sample 407, the two-dimensional scanning region irradiated with the primary electron beam 402 is controlled by the deflection coil 411, and a secondary electron image is acquired while changing the magnification. 415. The data storage device 416 determines the degree of change stored in the data storage device 416 at a low magnification after pre-dosing or at a high magnification during image observation. If the result is not satisfied, the stage 409 is controlled based on the information of the measurement location on the sample 407 stored in advance in the storage device 415, and moved to a new location on the sample not irradiated with the electron beam. A secondary electron image is acquired and evaluated using various measurement conditions. Deviations such as alignment that occur when the measurement conditions are changed are automatically corrected by controlling the alignment coil 411.

  The above operations are repeated until the pre-registered conditions are satisfied. If the evaluation results are satisfied, the changed conditions cannot be set, or if all the registered measurement points are used up, the evaluation is performed. The observation conditions and measurement results obtained are stored in the storage device 415 or output to the output device 417 and the processing is terminated.

  In the description of FIG. 4, the data arithmetic unit has been described as being integrated with or equivalent to the scanning electron microscope, but of course is not limited thereto, and the following is an environment provided separately from the scanning electron microscope body. You may perform the process which is demonstrated to. In that case, a detection signal detected by the secondary electron detector 413 is transmitted to the data arithmetic unit, or a signal is transmitted from the data arithmetic unit to a lens or a deflector of the scanning electron microscope, and the medium via the medium. An input / output terminal for inputting / outputting a transmitted signal is required.

  A flowchart of one embodiment of the present invention for clearly observing a pattern bottom portion in a hole pattern in a pre-dose region, faithfully reproducing a cross-sectional shape, and selecting a pattern suitable for observation will be described with reference to FIG. To do.

  As a pre-stage of the processing in FIG. 5, information necessary for evaluation such as coordinate information of the measurement pattern on the wafer is recorded in the storage device 415 via the input device 408. Usually, evaluation places exist over a plurality of areas. Next, it moves to an evaluation location based on such information (step 501), and pre-dose is performed in an observation field of low magnification to acquire a secondary electron image (step 502). Thereafter, for all hole patterns in the pre-dose region, based on the signal intensity extracted from the secondary electron image, the center-of-gravity shift amount of the figure corresponding to the shapes of the pattern upper part 304 and the bottom part 305 is calculated (step 503). The figure corresponding to the shape of the pattern upper part 304 and the bottom part 305 may be a figure obtained by analyzing the acquired secondary electron image and directly obtaining the outline of those shapes. By assuming that the figures corresponding to the shapes of the pattern upper part 304 and the bottom part 305 are ideal perfect circles, it is possible to more easily calculate the center-of-gravity shift amount of the figure corresponding to the shape. From the result of step 503, the hole pattern with the smallest center of gravity deviation is selected from the hole patterns in the pre-dose region, and the center of gravity deviation is stored (step 504), and the high magnification corresponding to the selected hole pattern is stored. In the observation field of view, the primary electron beam 402 is two-dimensionally scanned to obtain a secondary electron image (step 505). After that, the center-of-gravity shift amount of the figure corresponding to the shape of the hole upper part 304 and the bottom part 305 is calculated again from the secondary electron image obtained in step 505 (step 506). The center-of-gravity shift amount of the hole pattern calculated from the secondary electron image of the high-power observation field in step 506 and the center-of-gravity shift amount of the hole pattern calculated from the secondary electron image of the low-power observation field stored in step 504 A comparison is made to determine whether the center-of-gravity deviation calculated in step 506 is equal to the center-of-gravity deviation stored in step 504, or whether the center-of-gravity deviation calculated in step 506 is smaller than the center-of-gravity deviation stored in step 504. A determination is made (step 507). If the condition of step 507 is satisfied, the coordinate information of the hole pattern in the pre-dose region selected in step 504 and the pre-dose observation condition are stored, and the evaluation result is output (step 508). On the other hand, when the condition of step 507 is not satisfied, the information of the measurement pattern registered in advance is read from the storage device 415, moved to another evaluation location where pre-dosing has not been performed (step 501), and steps 502 to 507 are performed again. Repeat the process until you find the optimum condition. The procedure of FIG. 5 described above will be supplementarily described with reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 8A, a figure centroid 804 corresponding to the shape of the pattern upper portion 802 and a figure centroid 805 corresponding to the shape of the pattern bottom 803 are obtained according to the secondary electron image of the observation field 801 with a high magnification (FIG. 8A). 5 in step 505 and step 506). By comparing the gravity center shift amounts of the upper part 802 and the bottom part 803 of the secondary electron image pattern of the low magnification observation visual field 806 obtained before that, the evaluation points where the gravity center deviation amount becomes small are compared with those of the low magnification observation visual field 806. Reselection is performed from the secondary electron image (steps 507 and 501 in FIG. 5). According to the embodiment of the present invention, by selecting a hole pattern 807 having a small center-of-gravity deviation amount as an evaluation location instead of a hole pattern 807 having a large center-of-gravity deviation amount, the observation field is optimized and the pattern shape is faithfully reproduced on the cross section. It is possible to provide an observed image. Further, the optimum condition acquired in step 508 is stored in the storage device 415 on the apparatus main body, and the next time the same evaluation location is observed with the same sample, steps 502 to 507 shown in FIG. 5 are performed. Even without repeating the processing, the apparatus can be set in advance to a state where it can be observed under the optimum conditions.

  Although the above embodiment has been described with an example using a scanning electron microscope, the present invention can also be used in a transmission electron microscope and other electron beam application apparatuses. In the above embodiment, information detected from the sample 407 irradiated with the primary electron beam 402 is secondary electron information, but the detected information may be a charged particle such as reflected electrons or X-rays. In the embodiment, the storage device 415, the control / arithmetic unit 416, and the signal processing unit 414 have been described as individual devices and parts, but these processes may be performed by a program stored in the computer.

  FIG. 6A shows an example of the charged state of the sample surface during pre-dosing and the electric field behavior on the upper part of the sample. FIG. 6B shows an example of pre-dosing with respect to a high aspect ratio hole pattern arranged uniformly on a two-dimensional plane. An example of a secondary electron image is shown. When pre-dosing is performed on the region 605 of the sample 601, an electric field 603 is generated around the primary electron beam 602 (FIG. 6A). However, since the electric field state of the sample surface in the pre-dose region 605 differs depending on the position, the pattern observation region 606 When the position is changed, there is a difference in the obtained image.

  For example, when the vicinity of the center of the pre-dose region 605 is a pattern observation region 606 on the secondary electron image, the relative positional relationship between the hole pattern upper portion 607 and the bottom portion 608 displayed at the center of the observation region, and the end of the observation region May be observed in a state in which the relative positional relationship between the hole pattern upper portion 609 and the bottom portion 610 is different (FIG. 6B). That is, the relative positional relationship between the top and bottom of the hole pattern in the pattern observation region 606 may be observed differently depending on the position of the observation region in the pre-dose region 605.

FIG. 7A shows an example of secondary electron behavior in the wafer cross-sectional direction and the observed secondary electron image when the upper portion of the pattern is uniformly charged by pre-dose, and FIG. 7B shows the wafer cross-sectional direction when the upper portion of the pattern due to pre-dose is not evenly charged. An example of secondary electron behavior and observed secondary electron image is shown. As shown in FIG. 7A, when the charged state 703 at the top of the pattern is uniform by pre-dose, the secondary electrons generated at the pattern bottom 705 by the irradiation of the primary electron beam 704 are pulled straight up toward the top surface of the sample, and the secondary The relative positional relationship between the hole pattern upper portion 707 and the bottom portion 708 on the electronic image is correctly observed. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the charged state 709 on the upper surface of the pattern is not uniform due to pre-dose, secondary electrons generated at the pattern bottom 705 by the irradiation of the primary electron beam 704 are bent obliquely toward the upper surface of the sample. As a result, the relative positional relationship between the hole pattern upper portion 707 and the bottom portion 708 is observed to be shifted on the secondary electron image.
The problems observed when the relative positional relationship between the pattern upper portion 707 and the bottom portion 708 is shifted on such a secondary electron image include the case where the pattern shape and arrangement are not uniform in the pre-dose region, and the incidence of the primary electron beam. The same occurs when the corner is not perpendicular to the sample. Furthermore, when acquiring a pattern image at the time of observation, charging due to the influence of the primary electron beam may cause the charged state in the observation visual field to be non-uniform, and the pattern shape may not be accurately captured. These problems can be solved by applying the present invention described with reference to FIGS. 5, 8A, and 8B, and an observation image that faithfully reproduces the pattern shape of an actual sample can be provided.

  Also, in this example, to obtain the relative positional relationship between the top and bottom of the hole pattern, the center of gravity of the figure corresponding to the shape of the top and bottom was calculated and compared, but other methods were used. Thus, the relative positional relationship between the top and bottom of the hole pattern may be obtained.

  In this embodiment, the method for determining and selecting an appropriate pattern from the pre-dosed region has been described for the purpose of obtaining an observation image faithfully reproducing the pattern shape of the actual sample. You may implement | achieve by changing the irradiation position of a pre-dose. Similarly, an observation image capable of faithfully reproducing the actual pattern shape of the sample may be provided by controlling the irradiation angle of the primary electron beam.

  Furthermore, in this example, in order to obtain an observation image that faithfully reproduces the pattern shape of the actual sample, a secondary electron image is acquired immediately after pre-dosing in a low magnification observation field and a high magnification observation field. When the secondary electron image was acquired, the displacement of the center of gravity of the figure corresponding to the shape at the top and bottom of the pattern was calculated, but only the secondary electron image was acquired in the high magnification observation field, and the observation field was selected. May be implemented.

  In the embodiments, the hole pattern has been described as an observation target. However, the present invention is also useful for observing, inspecting, and measuring the bottom of a deep groove pattern having a large aspect ratio. In the hole pattern, position correction in two dimensions (X direction and Y direction) is necessary. However, in the case of a deep groove pattern, the positional relationship in only one direction (X direction or Y direction) may be corrected.

101 hole 102 observation field at magnification ML 103 observation field at magnification M0 104 hole top 105 hole bottom 301 insulator 302 substrate 303 primary electron beam 304 hole top 305 hole bottom 306 secondary electron 307 charged state (negative charge) )
308 Observation field 309 for observation of hole shape Charged state (positive charge) on top of hole
401 Filament 402 Primary electron beam 403 Wehnelt 404 Anode 405 Condenser lens 406 Objective lens 407 Sample (wafer)
408 Sample voltage application device 409 Stage 410 Alignment coil 411 Deflection coil 412 Secondary electron 413 Secondary electron detector 414 Signal processing unit 415 Storage device 416 Control / calculation unit 417 Output device 418 Input device 601 Sample (wafer)
602 Predose center (primary electron beam)
603 Electric field distribution generated by pre-dose 604 Charge state of pattern upper portion applied by pre-dose 605 Pre-dose region 606 Pattern observation region 607 Hole pattern bottom portion 608 Hole pattern upper portion 609 Hole pattern bottom portion 610 Hole pattern upper portion 701 Insulator 702 Substrate 703 Charged state (positive charge)
704 Primary electron beam 705 Behavior of secondary electrons generated from pattern bottom by irradiation with primary electron beam 706 Observation field for pattern shape observation 707 Pattern upper part 708 Pattern bottom part 801 Observation field for pattern shape observation 802 Pattern upper part 803 Pattern bottom part 804 Center of gravity 805 corresponding to the shape of the pattern upper portion 805 Center of gravity 806 corresponding to the shape of the bottom of the pattern Observation field 807 during pre-dosing Hole pattern 808 with a large amount of center of gravity displacement 808 Hole pattern with a small amount of center of gravity displacement

Claims (5)

In a charged particle beam apparatus that scans a region of a sample with a charged particle beam, detects secondary electrons or reflected electrons generated from the sample, or both, and forms an image,
A controller configured to form second image data formed based on scanning of a second area smaller than the first area, using first image data formed based on scanning of the first area; Have
The control unit calculates a first difference amount between a centroid of a graphic corresponding to the upper layer side shape and a centroid of a graphic corresponding to the lower layer side shape for each of the plurality of patterns included in the first image data. The charged particle beam apparatus controls to scan, as the second area, an area including a pattern in which the first difference amount satisfies a predetermined condition.   The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls that the first difference amount is minimum as the predetermined condition.   3. The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit includes a center of gravity and a lower layer of a figure corresponding to an upper layer side shape with respect to a pattern in which the first difference amount included in the second image data is minimized. A charged particle beam device characterized by calculating a second difference amount from a center of gravity of a figure corresponding to a side shape.   4. The charged particle beam apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control unit compares the first difference amount and the second difference amount. In a method for measuring or inspecting a sample based on an image formed by scanning a region of the sample with a charged particle beam and detecting secondary electrons or reflected electrons generated from the sample or both,
The first difference between the centroid of the figure corresponding to the upper layer side shape and the centroid of the figure corresponding to the lower layer side shape for the plurality of patterns included in the first image data formed based on the scanning of the first region Calculate each quantity,
A method for measuring or inspecting a sample, wherein a region including a pattern in which the first difference amount satisfies a predetermined condition is scanned as the second region.