JP4958616B2 - Hot spot narrowing device, hot spot narrowing method, hot spot narrowing program, hot spot inspection device, and hot spot inspection method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a hot spot narrowing device, a hot spot narrowing method, a hot spot narrowing program, a hot spot inspection device, and a hot spot inspection method used when inspecting hot spots on a wafer or a chip in a semiconductor device manufacturing process.

  Elements and wiring patterns in the latest semiconductor devices in recent years have been formed with a resolution of 1/2 or less of the exposure wavelength. In lithography technology, a technology that achieves such ultra-high resolution is called RET (Resolution Enhancement Technology), but OPC (Optical Proximity Correction) is one of the basic technologies that support RET. There is. In OPC, thinning or thickening of a pattern when exposure or etching is performed is predicted by simulation or the like, and a mask pattern for exposure is corrected in advance so as to compensate for the thinning or thickening of the pattern. That is, the mask pattern of the portion where thinning is predicted is thickened in advance, and the mask pattern of the portion where thinning is predicted is thinned in advance. By doing so, it is possible to prevent thinning and thickening in the formation of elements and wirings, and it is possible to reduce the occurrence of open defects and bridge defects caused by thinning and thickening of patterns.

  On the other hand, when RET progresses further and the pattern of the element and the wiring is formed with a resolution of 1/3 to 1/4 of the exposure wavelength, the numerical aperture of the lens is required to ensure the resolution. It is necessary to increase (Numerical Aperture). However, when the numerical aperture of the lens is increased, a phenomenon that the reduction of the focal depth becomes remarkable appears. In other words, this means that the margin for focusing is reduced, and as a result, the yield of formed elements and wirings is more susceptible to substrate steps, wafer flatness, lens aberrations, and the like. Means that.

  Further, with the progress of RET, the minimum line width of the formed pattern is repeatedly reduced from 65 nm to 45 nm, and further to 32 nm, for example. In that case, since the pattern width actually formed is very fine, not only the mere manufacturing process conditions but also the distribution on the surface of the device to be processed such as the exposure dose and the concentration of the etching gas, That is, it becomes sensitive to local manufacturing conditions.

  Therefore, in the manufacture of ultrafine semiconductor devices in the future, the manufacturing yield cannot be improved simply by performing OPC on the initial mask pattern. In order to improve the manufacturing yield, it is necessary to properly set the manufacturing process conditions in exposure, etching, and other various processes, and strictly control the set manufacturing process conditions.

  By the way, in particular, a pattern portion having no margin with respect to the manufacturing process condition is called a hot spot. That is, if the manufacturing process conditions deviate from the predetermined range even slightly, the hot spot is likely to be defective. Therefore, in order to determine the appropriateness of the manufacturing process conditions and analyze the cause of manufacturing yield defects, the manufacturing process manager checks whether the hot spot actually has defects such as elements and wiring. In addition, the state of the generated defect is observed or inspected using a review SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), a CD-SEM (Critical Dimension Scanning Electron Microscope), or the like.

Conventionally, hot spots are extracted by performing OPC verification simulation based on lithography simulation, for example. That is, in the OPC verification simulation, a mask pattern subjected to OPC is verified, and a portion where an open defect or a bridge defect is particularly likely to occur is extracted as a hot spot. An OPC verification system for performing such an OPC verification simulation is commercially available from an EDA (Electronic Design Automation) vendor or the like, and is disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1.
JP 2005-157043 A

  When the OPC verification system as described above is used, a hot spot of a semiconductor device to be inspected can be easily extracted. However, since the OPC verification system is mainly based on an optical simulation that considers the optical proximity effect, it is not possible to extract hot spots that are also involved in other manufacturing processes. Alternatively, in order to be able to extract such a hot spot, in the conventional OPC verification system, conditions under which defects can occur are set strictly. Although it is a measure for avoiding overlooking possible defects as much as possible, on the other hand, a large number of hot spots in the thousands to tens of thousands are extracted.

  When a large number of hot spots are extracted, the manufacturing process manager should examine which hot spots should be inspected to determine the appropriateness of manufacturing process conditions and to analyze causes such as manufacturing yield defects. You will get lost in that choice. In such a case, if a small number of hot spots sensitive to the manufacturing process conditions can be selected, the small number of hot spots can be used to manage the manufacturing process conditions by appropriately observing or inspecting the hot spots. .

  In view of the above-described problems of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a hot spot narrowing device for extracting hot spots that are more likely to cause defects from a large number of hot spots extracted by an OPC verification system or the like. Another object of the present invention is to provide a hot spot narrowing method and a hot spot narrowing program, and a hot spot inspection apparatus and a hot spot inspection method using them.

In order to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, the hot spot narrowing device of the present invention is configured by a computer including an information processing unit, an information storage unit, an input unit, and a display unit. The information storage unit indicates hot spot information including at least position information of a large number of hot spots existing on the surface of the semiconductor device to be inspected, and uneven shapes on the surface of the semiconductor device. and surface attribute information is configured to include a surface shape information, and stores the. Further, the information processing unit refers to the surface attribute information for each hot spot stored in the hot spot information , acquires surface attribute information at a position indicated by the position information of the hot spot, and The acquired surface attribute information is added to the hot spot information, a narrowing condition for narrowing down the hot spot information is set based on data related to the surface attribute information input from the input unit, and the surface attribute information is The hot spot information that matches the narrowing-down conditions is extracted with reference to the added hot spot information, and narrowed-down hot spot information is generated.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the hot spot which a defect tends to produce can be extracted from many hot spots extracted by the OPC verification system etc.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a hot spot narrowing device according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a hot spot narrowing device 1 includes an information storage unit 10 including a semiconductor memory and a hard disk device, an information processing unit 20 including a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a LAN (Local Area Network), the Internet, and the like. The communication unit 30 is connected to the communication network 5, a display device 40 such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an input device 50 such as a keyboard and a mouse, and the like.

  In addition, the hot spot narrowing device 1 is configured to perform a simulation of a manufacturing process for a defect inspection device 2 for actually observing or inspecting defects generated in a hot spot via a communication network 5 and a semiconductor device to be inspected. The server 3 is connected to a design database server 4 in which CAD (Computer Aided Design) information created when the semiconductor device is designed is stored.

  Here, the defect inspection apparatus 2 is, for example, a review SEM, a CD-SEM (measurement SEM), a surface defect inspection apparatus, or the like. In this case, a plurality of defect inspection apparatuses 2 of different types communicate with each other independently. It may be connected to the network 5.

  The simulation server 3 is installed with a known simulator for simulating a semiconductor device manufacturing process, such as a lithography simulator, an etching simulator, and a CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) simulator. In the simulation server 3, normally, before the hot spot narrowing down is performed by the hot spot narrowing device 1, the manufacturing process is simulated by these simulators. Based on the result of the simulation, hot spot information, surface shape information, and the like, which will be described later, are generated.

  The simulators related to these manufacturing processes may be installed individually or in combination as appropriate on a plurality of servers (computers) that are independently connected to the communication network 5.

  The design database server 4 mainly includes layout data (that is, floor plan data) of functional blocks constituting the semiconductor device, active layers and wiring layers of elements created as a result of the layout (hereinafter referred to as layer layers). Pattern shape data and the like are stored. In this case, the pattern shape data may be data before the OPC or data after the OPC.

  On the other hand, the information storage unit 10 of the hot spot narrowing device 1 stores CAD information 11, hot spot information 12, surface shape information 13, information-added hot spot information 14, narrowing condition information 15 about the semiconductor device to be narrowed down. The narrowed-down hot spot information 16 is stored. The detailed configuration of these pieces of information will be described later.

  The information processing unit 20 includes functional blocks such as an information acquisition unit 21, a hot spot information display unit 22, an additional information generation unit 23, a narrowing condition setting unit 24, a hot spot narrowing unit 25, and an information transmission unit 26. Is done. The functions of these functional blocks are realized when a CPU (not shown) included in the information processing unit 20 executes a predetermined program stored in a semiconductor memory (not shown) of the information storage unit 10 or the like. .

  Next, a flow of hot spot narrowing processing in the hot spot narrowing device 1 and an example of a configuration of information used in the processing will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of hot spot narrowing processing, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of hot spot information 12, and FIG. 4 is an example of the configuration of surface shape information 13. FIG. 5 and FIG. 5 are diagrams showing an example of the configuration of the information-added hot spot information 14.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the information processing unit 20 of the hot spot narrowing device 1 first receives CAD information of a semiconductor device to be narrowed down from the input device 50 or the like (hereinafter, the semiconductor device is an integrated circuit). The file names of hot spot information and surface shape information are input (step S11). Here, when inputting these file names, the server names of the design database server 4 and the simulation server 3 where the files are located are also input.

  Next, the information processing unit 20 processes the information acquisition unit 21 through the communication unit 30 and the communication network 5 as CAD information having the file name specified in step S11 from the design database server 4 or the simulation server 3, Hot spot information and surface shape information are acquired (step S12) and stored in the information storage unit 10 (CAD information 11, hot spot information 12, and surface shape information 13), respectively.

  Here, the CAD information 11 is configured in a data format (for example, GDSII format, OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards) format, etc.) used in a conventional general layout CAD tool or the like.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the hot spot information 12 includes, for each hot spot, the identification number of the hot spot, the position coordinates (X coordinate, Y coordinate) where the hot spot is located, and the type of the hot spot. And comprising. As types of hot spots, for example, an open defect in which the pattern is thinned, a bridge defect in which the pattern is thick and connected to an adjacent pattern, a necking defect in which the pattern is narrowed, and the like are assumed.

  The surface shape information 13 includes density information 13a shown in FIG. 4A and height information 13b shown in FIG. 4B.

  The density information is defined as, for example, the area of the portion to be etched per unit area or a 100-minute ratio when the integrated circuit chip surface is divided into predetermined mesh-shaped sections. That is, in the section where the density is high, since the area to be etched is large, the etching gas tends to be insufficient, and the pattern formed as a result tends to be thick. On the other hand, since the area to be etched is small in the low density section, the etching gas tends to be excessive, and as a result, the pattern formed tends to be thin.

  Further, the height information is information representing the unevenness of the layer that is the base when a pattern of a certain layer is formed. When the surface of the integrated circuit chip has irregularities, the focus of the lens of the exposure apparatus is usually adjusted to the average height position of the irregularities. As described above, the depth of focus tends to decrease in recent years as the lens NA increases. In that case, when the focus of the exposure apparatus is displaced upward or downward from the average height position of the unevenness due to variations in the adjustment in the manufacturing process, the height position deviates from the average height position. Since the pattern to be formed is out of focus, defects are likely to occur. That is, a defect is more likely to occur as the height information is farther from the average value.

  Such height information can be obtained in the simulation server 3 by, for example, a CMP simulator. In addition, the height information can be defined here as an average value of the height in each section when the surface of the integrated circuit chip is divided into, for example, predetermined mesh sections as in the density information.

  As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the surface shape information 13 as described above includes the mesh division number and two diagonal vertices of a rectangle representing the division, together with the density information 13a and the height information 13b. (X1 coordinate, Y1 coordinate), (X2 coordinate, Y2 coordinate) and the density or height of the section. In the case of such a data format, it is not necessary that all meshes have the same size, and the sections do not necessarily have to be mesh-shaped.

  Returning to FIG. 2 again, the description of the hot spot narrowing-down process will be continued. Subsequently to step S12, the information processing unit 20 selects a hot spot layer to be narrowed down based on information input by the user via the input device 50 (step S13).

  Next, the information processing unit 20 superimposes the hot spot included in the hot spot information 12 with, for example, the pattern shape data of the layer included in the CAD information 11 as processing of the hot spot information display unit 22, The information is displayed on the display device 40 (step S14). This is displayed as a hot spot before narrowing down for the user's reference, and a display example thereof will be separately described in detail with reference to FIG.

  Next, the information processing unit 20 sets a hot spot narrowing condition based on information input by the user via the input device 50 as a process of the narrowing condition setting unit 24 (step S15). The setting method will be separately described in detail with reference to FIG. 8. In short, the conditions are set so that hot spots that are likely to cause defects are selected as much as possible. The narrowing conditions set here are stored in the information storage unit 10 as narrowing condition information 15.

  Next, the information processing unit 20 adds information such as the surface shape information 13 to the hot spot information 12 as processing of the additional information generation unit 23 (step S16), and generates information addition hot spot information 14. As shown in FIG. 5, the information-added hot spot information 14 is obtained by adding surface attribute information of the surface of the integrated circuit corresponding to the position of the hot spot to the information of each hot spot included in the hot spot information 12. The surface attribute information includes surface shape information such as density and height, and layout information (placement information) such as functional blocks or circuit elements such as block names and array cell names.

  Here, the density and height data can be acquired by searching the density information 13a and the height information 13b based on the (X coordinate, Y coordinate) of the hot spot. Similarly, the block name and the array cell name can be obtained by searching the layout data of the functional block stored in the CAD information 11 based on the hot spot (X coordinate, Y coordinate). Note that an array cell refers to a block or cell in which a plurality of circuit elements having the same structure, such as a 1-bit memory cell and a 1-bit arithmetic circuit, are regularly arranged repeatedly.

  Next, as the processing of the hot spot narrowing unit 25, the information processing unit 20 extracts hot spot information that matches the narrowing condition set in step S15 from the information-added hot spot information 14 (step S17). The hot spot information is narrowed down and stored in the information storage unit 10 as hot spot information 16. Note that the hot spots included in the narrowed-down hot spot information 16 can be displayed on the display device 40 by being superposed on the pattern shape data of the layer and the like by the processing of the hot spot information display unit 22.

  Next, the information processing unit 20 transmits the narrowed hot spot information 16 to the defect inspection apparatus 2 via the communication unit 30 and the communication network 5 as a process of the information transmission unit 26 (step S18).

  When the above processing is completed, the defect inspection apparatus 2 can observe or inspect whether or not there is actually a defect at each hot spot position based on the received narrowing hot spot information. In that case, since the hot spots are narrowed down to those in which defects are likely to occur, the inspection time of the hot spots can be short, and the inspection results of the hot spots can be used for management of the manufacturing process.

  Next, an example of a display screen displayed on the display device 40 in the hot spot narrowing process will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of an initial display screen, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen for displaying hot spot information, and FIG. 8 is a display screen for displaying surface shape information. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a display screen when setting narrowing conditions.

  When the information processing unit 20 of the hot spot narrowing device 1 starts the hot spot narrowing process shown in FIG. 2, first, an initial setting display screen 60 as shown in FIG. 6 is displayed on the display device 40. Here, in the initial setting display screen 60, an input box 61 for inputting the name of the target integrated circuit, an input file name to the hot spot narrowing device 1, and an input for inputting the name of the server where it is located. A box 62 and an input box 63 for inputting the file name of the output file and the name of the output destination server are displayed.

  Therefore, when the user inputs a predetermined name in these input boxes and selects the “acquire” button 64 displayed on the upper right side of the initial setting display screen 60, the information processing unit 20 reads the CAD specified as the input file. Information (hot spot information) and surface shape information are acquired (downloaded) from a designated server. When the information processing unit 20 ends the download process of the input information, the information processing unit 20 displays a download end message on the initial setting display screen 60. Therefore, when the user selects, for example, the “start” button 65 displayed on the upper right side of the initial setting display screen 60, the information processing unit 20 displays a hot spot display screen 70 as shown in FIG.

  On the hot spot display screen 70, a product name display column 71, a hot spot display button 72, a narrowing condition data display button 73, a layer selection button 74, and a narrowing condition item button 75 of the integrated circuit are displayed. Therefore, when the user selects a layer with the layer selection button 74 and then selects the “before narrowing down” button of the hot spot display button 72, a hot spot display window 76, an enlarged display window 77, and a hot spot data display window 78 are further displayed. A block display window 79 and the like are displayed.

  Here, in the hot spot display window 76, the position of the hot spot of the integrated circuit is displayed superimposed on the pattern shape data of the layer of the CAD information 11. Note that the display can be appropriately enlarged or reduced. In the enlarged display window 77, the hot spot selected by the user among the hot spots displayed in the hot spot display window 76 is greatly enlarged and displayed. In this case, the pattern shape data of the layer in the CAD information 11 and the pattern shape obtained by lithography simulation or the like are superimposed and displayed.

  The hot spot data display window 78 displays hot spot data, that is, the contents of the hot spot information 12 as character information. In the display, it is assumed that sorting can be appropriately performed depending on the coordinate value, the type of defect, and the like.

  The block display window 79 displays the layout information (final floor plan information) of the functional block of the integrated circuit. The block display window 79 is used, for example, to narrow down hot spot information displayed on other display windows when the user selects a specific block or the like.

  In the hot spot display screen 70, after the narrowed hot spot information 16 is generated in the hot spot narrowing process of FIG. 2 (after step S17), the user presses the “after narrowing down” button of the hot spot display button 72. Is selected, the same hot spot display can be displayed on the hot spot display window 76 or the like for the narrowed hot spot information 16.

  Next, the user selects an “in-chip distribution” button of the narrowing condition data display button 73 on the hot spot display screen 70, and selects, for example, a “density” button and a “height” button using the narrowing condition item button 75. When selected, a surface shape data display screen 80 as shown in FIG. 8 is displayed.

  At this time, the surface shape data display screen 80 includes a product name display column 71, a hot spot display button 72, a narrowing condition data display button 73, a layer selection button 74, and a layer selection button 74 displayed on the hot spot display screen 70. The refinement condition item button 75 is continuously displayed as it is. On the surface shape data display screen 80, a density distribution display window 86, a height distribution display window 87, a density data display window 88, and a height data display window 89 are displayed.

  Here, in the density distribution display window 86, meshes obtained by dividing the surface of the integrated circuit in accordance with the density information 13a of the surface shape information 13 are displayed, and the density data of each mesh is, for example, a display color. It is displayed by the density of shading or shading density. Similarly, in the height distribution display window 87, a mesh obtained by dividing the surface of the integrated circuit according to the height information 13b of the surface shape information 13 is displayed. Further, for each mesh, the height data is, for example, The display color is displayed by shades of the display color or shading density.

  The density data display window 88 displays the density data of each hot spot as characters based on the information-added hot spot information 14. Similarly, the height data display window 89 displays the height data of each hot spot as characters. In the display, it is assumed that sorting can be appropriately performed based on density data and height data.

  At this time, a black dot representing the position of the hot spot may be superimposed on each of the density distribution display window 86 and the height distribution display window 87, and the layout information (final information) of the block of the integrated circuit may be displayed. May be displayed in a superimposed manner.

  Next, the user selects the “histogram” button of the refinement condition data display button 73 on the hot spot display screen 70 or the surface shape data display screen 80, and selects, for example, the “height” button using the refinement condition item button 75. Then, a narrowing condition setting screen 90 as shown in FIG. 9 is displayed.

  At this time, the refinement condition setting screen 90 includes a product name display field 71, a hotspot display button 72, a refinement condition data display button 73, a layer selection button 74, and a refinement that have been displayed on the hotspot display screen 70. The condition item button 75 is continuously displayed as it is. The narrowing condition setting screen 90 displays a condition setting display window 96, a narrowing execution button 97, a histogram display window 98, and a hot spot data display window 99.

  Here, in the hot spot data display window 99, the contents of the information added hot spot information 14 are displayed as character information. The histogram display window 98 displays a histogram of height data at each hot spot position included in the information-added hot spot information 14.

  Further, when the “height” button is selected with the narrowing condition item button 75 and the “range setting” button 961 is selected with the condition setting display window 96, the user looks at the histogram displayed in the histogram display window 98. As appropriate, an upper limit value and a lower limit value of the height are set. In this case, the hot spot narrowing condition is “the height data is lower than the lower limit value and higher than the upper limit value”, and in the process of extracting hot spot information that matches the narrowing condition (FIG. 2, step S17). In the histogram, hot spots whose height is outside the upper limit value and the lower limit value are extracted.

  That is, as described above, the farther the hot spot height data is from the average value, the harder the focus of the lens of the exposure apparatus is, so the hot spot whose height data is far from the average value is an actual defect. It is easy to produce. That is, by extracting hot spots whose height data is far from the average value, hot spots that are likely to be defective can be extracted.

  When the “number setting” button 962 is selected in the condition setting display window 96, the user can set the number of hot spots to be narrowed down. In this case, the information processing unit 20 sorts the hot spot data of the information-added hot spot information 14 in descending order from the average value of the height data, and sets the number of hot spot data set above from the top. To extract.

  The above description is the description when the “height” button is selected with the narrowing-down condition item button 75, but the same applies when the “density” button is selected with the narrowing-down condition item button 75. In the description, “height” may be referred to as “density”.

  Further, when the “block” button or the “array cell” button is selected by the narrowing-down condition item button 75, the display example is not shown again, but instead of the histogram display window 98 in FIG. A block display window 79 as shown in FIG. 7 is displayed. The block display window 79 displays the functional block and array cell layout (final floor plan information) of the integrated circuit.

  The user selects a specific functional block or array cell from the displayed functional blocks or array cells. Here, the selection operation includes a plurality of the same functional blocks in the integrated circuit (of course, It is effective only when there are a plurality of array cells). At this time, the information processing unit 20 leaves the hot spot data included in the selected functional block or array cell as hot spot data of the information-added hot spot information 14 as a target for narrowing down and has not been selected. The hot spot data included in is excluded from the target of narrowing down. By doing so, it is possible to narrow down the hot spots that occur in the same situation from the same functional block or array cell to one.

  When the setting of the hot spot narrowing conditions is completed as described above, the user next selects the narrowing execution button 97 displayed on the narrowing condition setting screen 90, for example. Then, an execution start confirmation display window (not shown) is further displayed. In the execution start confirmation display window, a list of narrowing conditions set so far is displayed, and a “confirm” button and a “return” button are displayed. Is displayed.

  Therefore, when the user selects the “confirm” button, the information processing unit 20 extracts hot spot information that matches the set narrowing condition from the information-added hot spot information 14 (step S17 in FIG. 2), and narrows the hot spot. Spot information 16 is generated. When the user selects the “return” button, the execution start confirmation display window is closed, and the hot spot narrowing condition can be set again using the narrowing condition setting screen 90.

  When the narrowed hot spot information 16 is generated as described above, the user selects the “after narrowing down” button of the hot spot display button 72, so that the narrowed hot spot information 16 is displayed on the hot spot display screen 70. A hot spot display window 76, an enlarged display window 77, a hot spot data display window 78, and a block display window 79 can be displayed.

  Although the description of the embodiment for carrying out the present invention has been completed, an example in which the embodiment is partially modified will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a first modification of the embodiment, and FIGS. 11 and 12 are diagrams illustrating a second modification of the embodiment.

(First Modification of Embodiment)
In the embodiment described with reference to FIG. 1, the hot spot narrowing device 1 is independent from the defect inspection device 2, but in a first modification of the embodiment described below, FIG. As shown, the hot spot narrowing device 1 and the defect inspection device 2 are integrally configured, and this is used as a hot spot inspection device 1a.

  In this case, the hot spot narrowing device 1 and the defect inspection device 2 are not limited to being connected via the communication network 5 and can be combined by various methods. For example, the information storage unit 10 of the hot spot narrowing device 1 may be combined in a form shared by the information processing unit 20 and the computer incorporated in the defect inspection device 2.

  Furthermore, the processing executed by the information processing unit 20 of the hot spot narrowing device 1 may be executed by a computer incorporated in the defect inspection device 2. In this case, the hot spot narrowing device 1 is substantially included in the defect inspection device 2.

  In the hot spot inspection apparatus 1a in which the hot spot narrowing apparatus 1 and the defect inspection apparatus 2 are integrated, if the hot spot information 12 is provided from the simulation server 3, the user can appropriately select the narrowing conditions. By inputting, the hot spots can be narrowed down, and further, the narrowed hot spots can be inspected in the same apparatus. As a result, it is possible to shorten the time required for the inspection from narrowing down the hot spots and improve the convenience for the user.

  The defect inspection apparatus 2 integrated with the hot spot inspection apparatus 1a may be any of review SEM, CD-SEM, surface defect inspection apparatus, and the like. In this case, when the integrated defect inspection apparatus 2 receives the supply of the narrowing hot spot information 16 from the hot spot narrowing apparatus 1, the integrated defect inspection apparatus 2 uses the narrowing hot spot information 16 and conforms to its own apparatus specifications. An inspection recipe generation unit that generates an inspection recipe automatically or by appropriately accepting an input operation by a user is provided. With such an inspection recipe creation function, the efficiency of hot spot inspection can be improved.

(Second Modification of Embodiment)
In the second modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, a surface shape measuring device 3a is added to the embodiment shown in FIG. In this case, the configuration of the hot spot narrowing device 1 is the same as that in FIG. However, in the configuration of FIG. 1, the surface shape information 13 is supplied from the simulation server 3, but here, it is assumed that at least a part of the surface shape information is supplied by the surface shape measuring device 3 a. For example, the height information 13b of the surface shape information 13 may be data obtained by actually measuring the shape of the surface of the integrated circuit chip to be inspected by the surface shape measuring device 3a, not data obtained by simulation.

  Incidentally, the height of the surface of the integrated circuit chip can be measured by a scanner of the exposure apparatus. That is, a scanner used in an exposure apparatus includes a focus sensor using an autofocus technique, and a relative distance from a lens to a subject (that is, an integrated circuit chip surface) or a subject (integrated circuit chip surface) position and The difference distance from the focus plane of the scanner can be measured. Therefore, the height information 13b of the surface shape information 13 can be acquired by the scanner of the exposure apparatus.

  As a focusing function, there is one having a function of tilting the scanner wafer stage in accordance with the cross-sectional structure of the surface of the integrated circuit chip. That is, in such an exposure apparatus, as shown in FIG. 12A, when the surface shape of the integrated circuit chip is low on the left side on the average and high on the right side with respect to the scanning direction of the scanner, Tilt the wafer stage and tilt it so that the left side is high and the right side is low to match the focus plane of the scanner. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 12B, when the surface shape of the integrated circuit chip is high on the left side on the average and low on the right side in the scanning direction, the scanner wafer stage is set low on the left side and on the right side. Tilt to be higher. In addition, as shown in FIG. 12C, when the surface shape of the integrated circuit chip is approximately the same height on the left side and the right side with respect to the scanning direction, the wafer stage is not tilted.

  When the wafer surface of the scanner is tilted according to the surface shape of the integrated circuit chip as described above, the height information is obtained as a difference distance from the image plane of the lens. In this case, the difference distance is usually smaller than when the wafer surface is not tilted.

  In the exposure apparatus as described above, the wafer stage is tilted in accordance with the surface shape of the integrated circuit chip to be exposed, exposure is performed, and height information is acquired during the exposure. Therefore, it can be said that the height information acquired at this time is data that more accurately reflects the state of the manufacturing process.

  In FIGS. 12A to 12C, the focus plane of the scanner is represented as an ideal plane (straight line). However, since the lens actually has optical aberration, the focus plane is shown in FIG. It is represented by a curve like 12 (d). Therefore, if the height information is calculated based on the difference distance from the focus plane represented by the curve, the height information will be more accurate that incorporates the effects of optical aberrations of the lens. Become.

  As described above, the height information of the integrated circuit chip measured by the scanner of the exposure apparatus is data that reflects the state of the manufacturing process with higher accuracy, and therefore should be used as information suitable for narrowing down hot spots. Can do.

The figure which showed the example of the structure of the hot spot narrowing-down apparatus based on this invention. The figure which showed the example of the flow of a hot spot narrowing-down process. The figure which showed the example of the structure of hot spot information. The figure which showed the example of the structure of surface shape information. The figure which showed the example of the structure of information addition hot spot information. The figure which showed the example of the display screen of initial setting. The figure which showed the example of the display screen which displays hot spot information. The figure which showed the example of the display screen which displays surface shape information. The figure which showed the example of the display screen when setting narrowing-down conditions. The figure which showed the 1st modification of embodiment. The figure which showed the 2nd modification of embodiment. The figure which showed the relationship between the surface shape of an integrated circuit chip, and a focus surface.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hot spot narrowing-down apparatus 1a Hot spot inspection apparatus 2 Defect inspection apparatus 3 Simulation server 3a Surface shape measuring apparatus 4 Design database server 5 Communication network 10 Information storage part 11 CAD information 12 Hot spot information 13 Surface shape information 13a Density information 13b Height Information 14 Information-added hot spot information 15 Narrowing condition information 16 Narrowing hot spot information 20 Information processing section 21 Information acquisition section 22 Hot spot information display section 23 Additional information generating section 24 Narrowing condition setting section 25 Hot spot narrowing section 26 Information transmission section 30 Communication unit 40 Display device 50 Input device 60 Initial setting display screen 70 Hot spot display screen 71 Product name display field 72 Hot spot display button 73 Refinement condition data display button 7 Layer selection button 75 Refinement condition item button 76 Hot spot display window 77 Enlarged display window 78 Hot spot data display window 79 Block display window 80 Surface shape data display screen 86 Density distribution display window 87 Height distribution display window 88 Density data display window 89 Height data display window 90 Filtering condition setting screen 96 Condition setting display window 97 Filtering execution button 98 Histogram display window 99 Hot spot data display window

Claims (19)

A hot spot narrowing device that narrows down many hot spots that are likely to cause defects on the surface of a semiconductor device to be inspected and extracts hot spots that are more likely to cause defects,
The hot spot narrowing device is
An information processing unit, an information storage unit, and an input unit;
The information storage unit
Hot spot information configured to include at least position information of each hot spot of the plurality of hot spots before narrowing down on the surface of the semiconductor device;
And surface attribute information is configured to include a surface shape information that indicates the unevenness of the surface of said semiconductor device,
The information processing unit
Wherein for each hotspot that is stored in the hot spot information, the referring surface attribute information, the position information of hot spots acquires surface attribute information at a position indicated by said hot the obtained surface attribute information Means for adding to spot information;
Based on data related to the surface attribute information inputted from the input unit, means for setting a narrowing condition for narrowing down the hot spot information;
Means for extracting hot spots that match the narrowing-down conditions with reference to hot spot information to which the surface attribute information is added, and generating narrowed-down hot spot information;
A hot spot narrowing device characterized by comprising: The surface attribute information is
It further includes functional block arrangement information that is arrangement information when the functional blocks constituting the semiconductor device are arranged on the surface of the semiconductor device.
The hot spot narrowing-down device according to claim 1. The hot spot narrowing device is
A communication unit connected to the communication network;
The information processing unit
The narrowed hot spot information is transmitted to a defect inspection apparatus that inspects the presence or absence of defects on the surface of the semiconductor device or the state of defects via the communication unit and the communication network. The hot spot narrowing device described. The information processing unit
The hot spot narrowing-down apparatus according to claim 1, wherein information acquired by simulation including at least one of lithography simulation, etching simulation, and CMP simulation is used as the surface shape information. The information processing unit
The hot spot narrowing-down apparatus according to claim 1, wherein information acquired by a surface shape measuring apparatus that measures a surface shape of the semiconductor device is used as the surface shape information. The hot spot narrowing device is
A display unit is further provided,
The information processing unit
The hot spot narrowing-down apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least position information of the hot spot is displayed on the display unit so as to overlap with at least pattern shape data at the time of designing the semiconductor device. The information processing unit
In the case of setting the narrowing condition by the surface shape information of the surface attribute information, the narrowing condition is set based on the upper limit value and the lower limit value or the number of narrowing down related to the surface shape information input from the input unit. And
When the input narrowing condition is an upper limit value and a lower limit value, referring to the hot spot information to which the surface shape information is added, whether the data of the surface shape information is larger than the upper limit value, Or, extract and narrow down hot spot information when it is smaller than the lower limit,
When the input narrowing condition is the number of narrowing down, the hot spot information corresponding to the number of narrowing down is extracted and narrowed in order from the largest difference from the average value of the surface shape information data. 2. The hot spot narrowing device according to claim 1, wherein The information processing unit
When the narrowing-down condition is set by the functional block arrangement information of the surface attribute information, information for selecting a specific functional block is received for a plurality of identical functional blocks, and the functional block name is used as the surface attribute information. 2. The hot spot according to claim 1, wherein referring to the added hot spot information, only hot spots belonging to the selected specific functional block are extracted and narrowed down among the functional blocks of the same shape. Narrowing device. A hot spot narrowing method for narrowing down hot spots that exist as many spots that are likely to cause defects on the surface of a semiconductor device to be inspected by a computer and extracting hot spots that are more likely to cause defects,
The computer
An information processing unit, an information storage unit, and an input unit;
The information storage unit
Hot spot information configured to include at least position information of each hot spot of the plurality of hot spots before narrowing down on the surface of the semiconductor device;
And surface attribute information is configured to include a surface shape information that indicates the unevenness of the surface of said semiconductor device,
The information processing unit
Wherein for each hotspot that is stored in the hot spot information, the referring surface attribute information, the position information of hot spots acquires surface attribute information at a position indicated by said hot the obtained surface attribute information Add to the spot information,
Based on the data related to the surface attribute information input from the input unit, set a narrowing condition for narrowing down the hot spot information,
A hot spot narrowing method, wherein hot spot information that matches the narrowing condition is extracted with reference to hot spot information to which the surface attribute information is added, and narrowed hot spot information is generated. The surface attribute information is
It further includes functional block arrangement information that is arrangement information when the functional blocks constituting the semiconductor device are arranged on the surface of the semiconductor device.
The hot spot narrowing-down method according to claim 9. The computer
A communication unit connected to the communication network;
The information processing unit
Said narrowed hot spot information, said communication unit and via said communication network, to claim 9, characterized by transmitting to the semiconductor device defect inspection apparatus for inspecting the condition of the presence or absence or defects in the surface defects The hot spot narrowing method described. The information processing unit
The hot spot narrowing-down method according to claim 9 , wherein information acquired by simulation including at least one of lithography simulation, etching simulation, and CMP simulation is used as the surface shape information. The information processing unit
The hot spot narrowing-down method according to claim 9 , wherein information acquired by a surface shape measuring apparatus that measures a surface shape of the semiconductor device is used as the surface shape information. The computer
A display unit is further provided,
The information processing unit
The hot spot narrowing-down method according to claim 9 , wherein at least position information of the hot spot is displayed on the display unit so as to overlap with at least pattern shape data at the time of designing the semiconductor device. The information processing unit
In the case of setting the narrowing condition by the surface shape information of the surface attribute information, the narrowing condition is set based on the upper limit value and the lower limit value or the number of narrowing down related to the surface shape information input from the input unit. And
When the input narrowing condition is an upper limit value and a lower limit value, referring to the hot spot information to which the surface shape information is added, whether the data of the surface shape information is larger than the upper limit value, Or, extract and narrow down hot spot information when it is smaller than the lower limit,
When the input narrowing condition is the number of narrowing down, the hot spot information corresponding to the number of narrowing down is extracted and narrowed in order from the largest difference from the average value of the surface shape information data. The hot spot narrowing-down method according to claim 9 , wherein the hot spot is narrowed down. The information processing unit
When the narrowing-down condition is set by the functional block arrangement information of the surface attribute information, information for selecting a specific functional block is received for a plurality of identical functional blocks, and the functional block name is used as the surface attribute information. The hot spot according to claim 9 , wherein referring to the added hot spot information, only hot spots belonging to the selected specific functional block are extracted from the functional blocks of the same shape and narrowed down. Narrowing method. A hot spot narrowing program for narrowing down many hot spots that are likely to cause defects on the surface of a semiconductor device to be inspected and causing a computer to extract hot spots that are more likely to cause defects,
The computer
An information processing unit, an information storage unit, and an input unit;
The information storage unit
Hot spot information configured to include at least position information of each hot spot of the plurality of hot spots before narrowing down on the surface of the semiconductor device;
And surface attribute information is configured to include a surface shape information that indicates the unevenness of the surface of said semiconductor device,
Remember
In the information processing unit,
Wherein for each hotspot that is stored in the hot spot information, the referring surface attribute information, the position information of hot spots acquires surface attribute information at a position indicated by said hot the obtained surface attribute information Processing to add to spot information;
Based on data related to the surface attribute information input from the input unit, a process for setting a narrowing condition for narrowing down the hot spot information;
Referring to the hot spot information with the surface attribute information added thereto, extracting hot spots that match the narrowing conditions, and generating narrowed hot spot information; and
A hot spot narrowing program characterized in that Hot spot inspection apparatus that narrows down many hot spots that are likely to cause defects on the surface of the semiconductor device to be inspected, extracts hot spots that are more likely to cause defects, and performs a predetermined inspection on the few extracted hot spots Because
The hot spot inspection device includes:
An information processing unit, an information storage unit, and an input unit;
The information storage unit
Hot spot information configured to include at least position information of each hot spot of the plurality of hot spots before narrowing down on the surface of the semiconductor device;
And surface attribute information is configured to include a surface shape information that indicates the unevenness of the surface of said semiconductor device,
The information processing unit
Wherein for each hotspot that is stored in the hot spot information, the referring surface attribute information, the position information of hot spots acquires surface attribute information at a position indicated by said hot the obtained surface attribute information Means for adding to spot information;
Based on data related to the surface attribute information inputted from the input unit, means for setting a narrowing condition for narrowing down the hot spot information;
Means for extracting hot spots that match the narrowing-down conditions with reference to hot spot information to which the surface attribute information is added, and generating narrowed-down hot spot information;
Based on the narrowed hot spot information, means for generating an inspection recipe suitable for itself,
A hot spot inspection device characterized by comprising: Hot spot inspection apparatus that narrows down many hot spots that are likely to cause defects on the surface of the semiconductor device to be inspected, extracts hot spots that are more likely to cause defects, and performs a predetermined inspection on the few extracted hot spots Hot spot inspection method used in
The hot spot inspection device includes:
An information processing unit, an information storage unit, and an input unit;
The information storage unit
Hot spot information configured to include at least position information of each hot spot of the plurality of hot spots before narrowing down on the surface of the semiconductor device;
And surface attribute information is configured to include a surface shape information that indicates the unevenness of the surface of said semiconductor device,
The information processing unit
Wherein for each hotspot that is stored in the hot spot information, the referring surface attribute information, the position information of hot spots acquires surface attribute information at a position indicated by said hot the obtained surface attribute information Add to the spot information,
Based on the data related to the surface attribute information input from the input unit, set a narrowing condition for narrowing down the hot spot information,
With reference to the hot spot information to which the surface attribute information is added, a hot spot that matches the narrowing condition is extracted, and the narrowed hot spot information is generated,
A hot spot inspection method characterized by generating an inspection recipe suitable for itself based on the narrowed hot spot information.

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