JPH11231507A - Method and device for inspecting mask - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform inspection without lowering the inspection sensitivity of a pattern part other than a corrected fine pattern by setting a 1st inspection area expanded by previously specified width and a 2nd inspection are excluding the 1st inspection area from the entire inspection area and inspecting by applying different inspection sensitivity between the 1st and 2nd inspection areas. SOLUTION: For pattern data 200, the 1st inspection area B1 expanded by the predetermined specific width and the 2nd inspection area B2 excluding the 1st inspection area B1 from the entire inspection area of the pattern data 200 of a mask are set. Then different inspection sensitivity is applied between the 1st inspection area B1 and 2nd inspection area B2 and the inspection is performed. Namely, the inspection sensitivity is made high for the inspection area B2 and made low for the inspection area B1 wherein the pattern part where addition or subtraction calculation is performed by proximity effect correction is inspected. Therefore, the inspection can be carried out while the inspection sensitivity at the pattern part other than the corrected part is held high.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mask inspection method and a mask inspection apparatus, and more particularly, to an accurate inspection of a mask pattern in a mask created by a proximity effect correction method. The present invention relates to a mask inspection method and apparatus capable of performing such operations.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, a method of manufacturing a mask having a fine pattern by using a proximity effect correction method has been adopted, and there are also many methods of inspecting a pattern of a mask formed by such a method. Has been proposed. However, in the exposure step of the semiconductor device manufacturing process, the pattern size error is increasing due to the proximity effect between the patterns as the pattern size becomes finer. The use of a correction mask is being considered.

In such a proximity effect correction mask, fine irregularities are formed in the corrected portion. Due to the resolution limit of the mask manufacturing process, the difference between the shape of the finished pattern at the corrected portion and the shape of the design pattern increases. Therefore, in a mask pattern inspection for inspecting a difference between a pattern shape and a design pattern shape in a completed mask, a normal portion is easily detected as a defect because a difference in a portion subjected to proximity effect correction is large. In addition, it is necessary to lower the inspection sensitivity as compared with a mask not subjected to the proximity effect correction.

In a case where inspection is performed by comparing images of two identical pattern portions with a mask in which a plurality of identical patterns are present on the mask, the result of the portion corrected by the fine pattern is the same in both patterns. However, since the manufacturing unevenness is large in the case of a fine concavo-convex pattern, the difference in the shape of the finished pattern between the two patterns is likely to be large, and it is necessary to lower the inspection sensitivity.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-160598 discloses a method for inspecting a mask pattern. In the method for inspecting a mask pattern, the mask pattern design data before the optical proximity effect correction is used. This indicates that inspection data for abnormality correction detection is created in advance, and only that the mask pattern of the mask is compared with the inspection data to detect an abnormality correction portion, and a specific portion of the mask pattern of the mask is detected. There is no disclosure at all about a technique for changing the inspection sensitivity in other parts.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-117622 discloses that
The difference between the pattern width and the drawing pattern width at the time when the energy intensity on the center line of each pattern reaches a predetermined threshold value according to the exposure condition and the pattern size is determined, and the pattern data obtained by enlarging the difference value is obtained. Only a method of performing inspection from intervals is shown, and there is no disclosure of a method of adjusting inspection sensitivity.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to improve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and to separately inspect a corrected pattern portion and other pattern portions in a pattern inspection of a mask corrected for proximity effect. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a mask inspection method and apparatus capable of inspecting a pattern portion other than a corrected fine pattern without lowering the inspection sensitivity.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention employs the following basic technical structure. That is, as a first aspect of the present invention, the mask pattern is inspected by comparing the mask pattern design data obtained by the proximity effect correction with the pattern data of the mask created by the mask pattern design data. In the method, when calculating a difference value between the mask pattern design data and the pattern data of the mask, the first inspection area and the mask are enlarged by a predetermined width with respect to the pattern data. A second inspection area excluding the first inspection area is set from all the inspection areas of the pattern data, and inspection is performed by applying different inspection sensitivities to the first inspection area and the second inspection area. This is a mask inspection method. As a second mode, the mask pattern design data subjected to the proximity effect correction includes a desired pattern before the proximity effect correction is performed. And pattern data of one or more fine patterns which are added to a part of the mask pattern part by the proximity effect correction or subtracted from a part of the mask pattern part by proximity effect correction. Is a method for inspecting a mask composed of:

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided first storage means for storing pattern data of a mask pattern portion having a plurality of desired patterns before performing proximity effect correction. A second storage means for storing a plurality of fine pattern data to be added to or subtracted from a part of the mask pattern part; Mask pattern design data creating means for forming mask pattern design data for selecting and combining pattern data of a pattern from the first and second storage means, and a mask to be inspected formed by the mask pattern design data creating means Inspection mask pattern data detecting means for optically reading a mask, inspection mask pattern data Binarization pattern data forming means for the periphery of the in the mask pattern on the inspected mask outputted from the output means to create a binarized pattern data,
In the mask pattern data of the binarized inspected mask, whether it is added to a mask pattern portion having a desired pattern in the mask pattern design data,
A first inspection region including the binarized pattern data portion is provided in a peripheral region of the binarized pattern data portion corresponding to the fine pattern portion subtracted from the mask pattern portion, and a first inspection region of the mask to be inspected is provided. Inspection area setting means for providing a second inspection area in an area excluding the first inspection area in the pattern data, the inspection sensitivity in the first inspection area is used as the inspection sensitivity of the second inspection area. Sensitivity adjusting means for setting a lower sensitivity, calculating means for obtaining a difference value between the mask pattern design data and the pattern data of the mask to be inspected, and sensitivity which is individually set in the respective inspection areas And a determining means for determining whether the pattern is normal or abnormal according to the following.

[0010]

That is, in the mask inspection method according to the present invention, the above-described technical configuration is employed, and the portion corrected with a fine pattern has low sensitivity. Because the pattern part is inspected with high sensitivity,
The inspection can be performed without increasing the inspection sensitivity in the pattern portion other than the corrected portion without the corrected normal pattern portion becoming a defect.

[0011]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a mask inspection method and a mask inspection apparatus according to the present invention. That is, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a specific example of a mask inspection apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation procedure of a specific example of a mask inspection method according to the present invention. It is.

As described above, the mask inspection method according to the present invention uses the mask pattern design data 100 obtained by the proximity effect correction as shown in FIG. 3 and the mask pattern design data as shown in FIG. In the method of inspecting the mask pattern by comparing with the pattern data 200 of the mask created by the mask pattern design data 1
When calculating the difference value between the pattern data 200 and the pattern data 200 of the mask,
First inspection area B enlarged by a predetermined width
1 and a second inspection area B2 excluding the first inspection area from all the inspection areas of the pattern data 200 of the mask, and the first inspection area B1 and the second inspection area B2 are set.
Is a mask inspection method for inspecting by applying different inspection sensitivities to each other.

In the present invention, the proximity effect corrected mask pattern design data 100 is, as shown in FIG.
The pattern data of the mask pattern portion having the desired pattern A1 before the proximity effect correction is added to a part of the mask pattern portion A1 by the proximity effect correction or subtracted from a part of the mask pattern portion A1. It is desirable that the data be composed of one or a plurality of fine patterns A2 or A3.

Further, in the present invention, the pattern data 200 of the inspection target mask shown in FIG. 4 is the mask pattern design data 10 obtained by the proximity effect correction.
It is desirable that the peripheral portion of the pattern in the mask formed based on 0 is composed of binary data.
In the present invention, the pattern data 20 of the inspection target mask is used.
0, the binary pattern corresponding to the fine pattern portion A2 or A3 that is added to or subtracted from the mask pattern portion having the desired pattern in the mask pattern design data 100. A first inspection region B1 including the binarized pattern data portion is provided in a peripheral region 300 of the data portion, and a region excluding the first inspection region B1 in the pattern data 200 of the mask to be inspected. Is the second inspection area B2.

In the present invention, the first inspection area B1 is an area 3 that constitutes the binary pattern data.
It is desirable to enlarge 00 at a predetermined ratio, preferably uniformly in all directions. Next, in the present invention, it is desirable to set the inspection sensitivity in the first inspection area B1 to be lower than the inspection sensitivity in the second inspection area B2.

That is, in the mask inspection method according to the present invention, the portion corrected by the fine mask has larger irregularities than the original pattern portion A1. When the normal inspection sensitivity is used, all such portions are recognized as defective patterns, and even if the portions are normal, they are often determined to be defective portions. On the other hand, if the inspection sensitivity is adjusted to the portion corrected by the fine mask, there is a greater danger that the defective portion may be overlooked even if the original pattern portion A1 happens to have a defective portion.

Therefore, the basic technical idea of the present invention is that, even in a single mask pattern, the inspection conditions are changed depending on the location, and the proximity of a predetermined desired mask pattern portion A1 is determined. Mask pattern portion A2 or A3 added or calculated by effect correction
Are divided into different inspection areas, and different inspection sensitivities are set in the respective inspection areas.

More specifically, in the inspection area B2 for inspecting a predetermined desired mask pattern portion A1, the inspection sensitivity is increased, and the mask pattern portion A2 or A3 added or calculated by the proximity effect correction is inspected. In the inspection area B1 to be inspected, the inspection sensitivity is lowered to execute an accurate inspection determination operation. For example,
The sensitivity can be adjusted by the number of pixels having a predetermined pixel size.

Next, a more specific example of the mask inspection method according to the present invention will be described below. FIG. 3 shows mask pattern data 100 obtained by proximity effect correction.
In the inspection method of the present invention, mask pattern design data A4, which is mask pattern data after proximity effect correction, which is composed of mask pattern data A2 added by proximity effect correction to mask pattern data A1 before proximity effect correction is used. FIG. 4 obtained from the mask.
Are used for inspection.

More specifically, desired pattern data A1 is read from a first storage means for storing a plurality of mask patterns, and necessary pattern data A1 is read from a second storage means for storing a plurality of fine pattern data. The fine patterns are read out, and the patterns are added or subtracted as shown in FIG. 3 to create mask pattern design data A4. In this specific example, the mask pattern data A1 before proximity effect correction is formed with a minimum dimension of, for example, 1.25 μm, and the minimum width of the fine unevenness generated by the proximity effect correction is 0.25 μm.
μm.

After a desired mask is formed using the mask pattern design data 100, pattern data 200 is created by binarizing the periphery of the mask pattern in the formed inspection target mask. Thereafter, in the mask pattern data 200 of the binarized inspected mask, the mask pattern is added to or subtracted from the mask pattern portion A1 having a desired pattern in the mask pattern design data. A first inspection area B1 including the binarized pattern data portion is provided in a peripheral region 300 of the binarized pattern data portion corresponding to the fine pattern portions A2 and A3, and the pattern data of the mask to be inspected is provided. The area other than the first inspection area B1 in 200 is set as a second inspection area B2.

In this specific example, a pattern in which the pattern data A2 is enlarged by, for example, 0.5 μm is generated by the image processing apparatus, and is stored again in an appropriate storage means. This is used as the inspection area B1. An area excluding the inspection area B1 from the entire desired mask inspection area is defined as an inspection area B2. FIG. 4 shows an image microscope image obtained by the microscope 3 based on the pattern of the mask 2 in the mask inspection apparatus 20 shown in FIG. Are images binarized by the image processing apparatus 5 using a threshold.

The central processing means 6 calculates the difference between the mask image data A4 and the mask pattern data A4 in FIG. In the present invention, the reference of the defect size (the number of pixels) for determining whether or not a pattern is defective, that is, the sensitivity is set to a predetermined value for each of the first and second inspection areas. In addition, a portion having a difference larger than this is regarded as a pattern defect.

The defect size based on the defect judgment standard is the minimum defect detection size (inspection sensitivity), but the inspection area B1 is set to have a lower sensitivity than the inspection area B2. For example, pixel size 0.25
In μm, the inspection area B2 has 6 pixels, and the inspection area B1 has 12 pixels. In the pattern inspection, during the inspection of the image of the inspection region B1, a defect inspection is performed with the inspection sensitivity of the inspection region B1,
During the inspection of the inspection area B2, the defect inspection is performed with the inspection sensitivity of the inspection area B2.

If the operation procedure in the method of the above-described mask inspection method according to the present invention is described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2, a mask pattern portion having a desired pattern before proximity effect correction is performed. And one or more pattern data of one or more fine patterns which are added to a part of the mask pattern part by the proximity effect correction or subtracted from a part of the mask pattern part. (Step (1)) to form mask pattern design data with the proximity effect corrected by combining them with each other, a step of forming a mask using the mask pattern design data (step (2)), A step of creating pattern data obtained by binarizing the peripheral portion of the mask pattern in the inspection target mask (step (3)); In the mask pattern data of the mask to be inspected, the second pattern corresponding to the fine pattern portion that is added to or subtracted from the mask pattern portion having the desired pattern in the mask pattern design data. Providing a first inspection area including the binarized pattern data section in the peripheral area of the digitized pattern data section (step (4)); and providing the first inspection area in the pattern data of the mask to be inspected. Setting an area excluding the inspection area as a second inspection area (step (5)); and setting the inspection sensitivity in the first inspection area to be lower than the inspection sensitivity in the second inspection area. (Step (6)), a step of obtaining a difference value between the mask pattern design data and the pattern data of the inspection target mask (Step (7)), The are those constituted from the step of determining whether the normal or abnormal (Step (8)) in accordance with sensitivity set individually At a test area of each it.

In the mask inspection method according to the present invention, the difference value is represented by the number of pixels, and the sensitivity in the first inspection area is determined by the first number of pixels. It is also desirable to set the threshold in the second inspection area and set the number of pixels larger than the first number of pixels in the second inspection area as the second threshold. As another specific example of the mask inspection method according to the present invention, mask pattern design data 100 as shown in FIG. 3B is used.
Although only the type is used, for example, there are two types or two or more types, such as a mask pattern data A2 added by proximity effect correction to a mask pattern data A1 before proximity effect correction and a mask pattern data A3 subtracted. good.
In this case, after the pattern data A2 and the pattern data A3 are added by the image processing device, a pattern enlarged by, for example, 0.5 μm is used as the inspection area B1. In this case, the time required for pattern processing increases, but handling of mask pattern data becomes convenient.

Also, in the case where inspection is performed by comparing images of two identical pattern portions with a mask in which a plurality of identical patterns are present on the mask, a portion corrected with a fine pattern in the same manner as in the above embodiment. Is set to be inspected with low sensitivity, and the other pattern portions are inspected with high sensitivity. Next, a specific example of the mask inspection apparatus according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1, a mask inspection apparatus 20 according to the present invention has a first storage means 8 for storing pattern data of a mask pattern portion having a plurality of desired patterns before performing proximity effect correction. A second storage means 9 for storing a plurality of pattern data of fine patterns to be added to or subtracted from a part of the mask pattern portion by proximity effect correction; Mask pattern design data creating means for selecting and combining the pattern data A1 of the portion and the pattern data A2, A3 of the fine pattern from the first and second storage means 8, 9 to form mask pattern design data 10, the mask pattern mounted on the mask stage 1 configured to be movable by appropriate stage control means 7 The inspected mask 2 formed by the total data creating means 10 is obtained from an inspected mask pattern data detecting means 11 constituted by a microscope 3, a CCD camera 4 and the like, which optically reads, and the obtained mask pattern data detecting means 11. The image processing unit 5 that processes the obtained image data creates, for example, pattern data 200 obtained by binarizing the periphery of the mask pattern in the inspection target mask output from the inspection target mask pattern data detection unit 11. The binarized pattern data forming means 12, which is added to a mask pattern portion A1 having a desired pattern in the mask pattern design data 100 in the mask pattern data 200 of the binarized inspected mask, It corresponds to the fine pattern portions A2 and A3 subtracted from the mask pattern portion A1. To the binarization pattern data portion of the peripheral region 300, provided with the binarization pattern data unit first inspection region B1 includes,
In the pattern data of the inspection target mask, the first
The inspection area setting means 13 for providing the second inspection area B2 in the area other than the inspection area B1 of the first inspection area B1 so that the inspection sensitivity in the first inspection area B1 is lower than the inspection sensitivity of the second inspection area B2 Sensitivity adjusting means 14 to be set; calculating means 15 for calculating a difference value between the mask pattern design data and the pattern data of the mask to be inspected; normalizing the difference value in accordance with the sensitivity individually set in each inspection area And a central control means 6 for comprehensively controlling each of the above-described means.

According to another aspect of the present invention, pattern data of a mask pattern portion having a desired pattern before proximity effect correction is added to a part of the mask pattern portion by proximity effect correction. Or selecting one or more pattern data of one or more fine patterns subtracted from a part of the mask pattern portion and combining them with each other to create mask pattern design data corrected for proximity effect. A step of forming a mask using the mask pattern design data; a step of creating pattern data by binarizing a peripheral portion of a mask pattern in the formed inspection target mask; a step of forming the binarized inspection mask Mask pattern portion having a desired pattern in the mask pattern design data in the mask pattern data Providing a first inspection area including the binarized pattern data portion in a peripheral region of the binarized pattern data portion corresponding to the fine pattern portion added or subtracted from the mask pattern portion; In the pattern data of the mask to be inspected, a step of setting an area other than the first inspection area as a second inspection area, the inspection sensitivity in the first inspection area is determined by comparing the inspection sensitivity of the second inspection area with the second inspection area. A step of setting the sensitivity lower than the inspection sensitivity, a step of obtaining a difference value between the mask pattern design data and the pattern data of the mask to be inspected, and setting the difference value in accordance with the sensitivity individually set in each inspection region. And a step of judging whether the mask is normal or abnormal.

[0030]

The mask inspection method and mask inspection apparatus according to the present invention employ the above-described technical configuration, so that the portion corrected by the fine pattern has low sensitivity.
Since the other pattern portions are inspected with high sensitivity, the corrected normal pattern portion does not become a defect, and the inspection can be performed while the inspection sensitivity in the pattern portions other than the corrected portion is kept high.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a specific example of a mask inspection apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure in a specific example of the mask inspection method of the present invention.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams showing examples of mask pattern design data used in a mask inspection method according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing binarized data of a mask to be inspected in a specific example of a mask inspection method according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Inspection apparatus of mask 2 ... Mask to be inspected 3 ... Microscope 4 ... CCD camera 5 ... Image processing means 6 ... Central control means 7 ... Stage control means 8 ... First storage means 9 ... Second storage means 10 ... Mask Pattern design data creation means 11 ... Inspection mask pattern data detection means 12 ... Binary pattern data formation means 13 ... Inspection area setting means 14 ... Sensitivity adjustment means 15 ... Calculation means 16 ... Judgment means 20 ... Mask inspection apparatus 100 ... Mask Pattern design data 200 ... Pattern data 300 ... Peripheral area of binarized pattern data section

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] August 28, 1998

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Claims

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[Claims]

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0008

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention employs the following basic technical structure. That is, as a first aspect of the present invention, the mask pattern is inspected by comparing the mask pattern design data obtained by the proximity effect correction with the pattern data of the mask created by the mask pattern design data. In the method, when calculating a difference value between the mask pattern design data and the pattern data of the mask, the proximity effect correction is performed on the pattern data.
Setting a first inspection area obtained by enlarging a portion corrected by the above by a predetermined width and a second inspection area excluding the first inspection area from all inspection areas of the pattern data of the mask; This is a mask inspection method in which inspection is performed by applying different inspection sensitivities in the first inspection area and the second inspection area. In a second aspect, the proximity effect corrected mask pattern design data is Pattern data of a mask pattern portion having a desired pattern before effect correction and one or more pattern data added to or subtracted from a part of the mask pattern portion by proximity effect correction This is a method for inspecting a mask composed of pattern data of individual fine patterns.

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0009

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided first storage means for storing pattern data of a mask pattern portion having a plurality of desired patterns before performing proximity effect correction. A second storage means for storing a plurality of fine pattern data to be added to or subtracted from a part of the mask pattern part; Mask pattern design data creating means for forming mask pattern design data for selecting and combining pattern data of a pattern from the first and second storage means, and a mask to be inspected formed by the mask pattern design data creating means Inspection mask pattern data detecting means for optically reading a mask, inspection mask pattern data Binarization pattern data forming means for a microscope image of in the mask pattern on the inspected mask outputted from the output means to create a binarized pattern data, at the mask pattern data of the inspected mask the binarized A region including a binarized pattern data portion corresponding to a fine pattern portion added to or subtracted from a mask pattern portion having a desired pattern in the mask pattern design data.
An inspection area setting means for providing a first inspection area in an area, and providing a second inspection area in an area excluding the first inspection area in the pattern data of the mask to be inspected, the first inspection area A sensitivity adjusting means for setting the inspection sensitivity in the second inspection area to be lower than the inspection sensitivity of the second inspection area; an arithmetic means for obtaining a difference value between the mask pattern design data and the pattern data of the inspection target mask; Determining means for determining whether the value is normal or abnormal in accordance with the sensitivity individually set in each inspection area, and a mask inspection apparatus.

[Procedure amendment 4]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0012

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

As described above, the mask inspection method according to the present invention uses the mask pattern design data 100 obtained by the proximity effect correction as shown in FIG. 3 and the mask pattern design data as shown in FIG. In the method of inspecting the mask pattern by comparing with the pattern data 200 of the mask created by the mask pattern design data 1
When calculating the difference value between the pattern data 200 and the pattern data 200 of the mask,
A first inspection area B1 obtained by enlarging a portion corrected by the proximity effect correction by a predetermined width, and a second inspection area obtained by removing the first inspection area from all inspection areas of the pattern data 200 of the mask. B2 is set, and a different inspection sensitivity is applied to the first inspection region B1 and the second inspection region B2 to perform inspection.

[Procedure amendment 5]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0014

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

Further, in the present invention, the pattern data 200 of the inspection target mask shown in FIG. 4 is the mask pattern design data 10 obtained by the proximity effect correction.
Microscopic pattern in mask formed based on 0
It is desirable that the data be constituted by data obtained by binarizing a mirror image . In the present invention, the mask pattern design data 100 in the pattern data 200 of the inspection target mask is used.
In the peripheral region 300 of the binarized pattern data portion corresponding to the fine pattern portion A2 or A3 which is added to or subtracted from the mask pattern portion having the desired pattern in A first inspection region B1 including the patterned data portion is provided, and a region other than the first inspection region B1 in the pattern data 200 of the inspection target mask is defined as a second inspection region B2. is there.

[Procedure amendment 6]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0015

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

Further, in the present invention, the first inspection area B1 corresponds to a desired area in the mask pattern design data.
Is added to the mask pattern part having the pattern of
Or the pattern part subtracted from the mask pattern part
It is desirable to enlarge the portion A2 or A3 at a predetermined ratio, preferably uniformly in all directions. Next, in the present invention, it is desirable to set the inspection sensitivity in the first inspection area B1 to be lower than the inspection sensitivity in the second inspection area B2.

[Procedure amendment 7]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0016

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

That is, in the mask inspection method according to the present invention, the portion corrected by the fine mask has a larger difference from the design pattern than the original pattern portion A1. When the normal inspection sensitivity in the method is used, all such portions are recognized as defective patterns, and even if the inspection patterns are normal, they are often determined to be defective. On the other hand, if the inspection sensitivity is adjusted to the portion corrected by the fine mask, there is a greater danger that the defective portion may be overlooked even if the original pattern portion A1 happens to have a defective portion.

[Procedure amendment 8]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0021

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

After a desired mask is formed using the mask pattern design data 100, pattern data 200 is formed by binarizing a microscope image of the mask pattern of the formed inspection target mask. Thereafter, in the mask pattern data 200 of the binarized inspected mask, the mask pattern is added to or subtracted from the mask pattern portion A1 having a desired pattern in the mask pattern design data. A first inspection area B1 including the binarized pattern data portion is provided in a peripheral region 300 of the binarized pattern data portion corresponding to the fine pattern portions A2 and A3, and the pattern data of the mask to be inspected is provided. The area other than the first inspection area B1 in 200 is set as a second inspection area B2.

[Procedure amendment 9]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0025

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

If the operation procedure in the method of the above-described mask inspection method according to the present invention is described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2, a mask pattern portion having a desired pattern before proximity effect correction is performed. And one or more pattern data of one or more fine patterns which are added to a part of the mask pattern part by the proximity effect correction or subtracted from a part of the mask pattern part. (Step (1)) to form mask pattern design data with the proximity effect corrected by combining them with each other, a step of forming a mask using the mask pattern design data (step (2)), Microscope of mask pattern in inspected mask
A step of creating pattern data obtained by binarizing the image (step (3)); a mask pattern having a desired pattern in the mask pattern design data in the mask pattern data of the binarized inspected mask; The binary pattern data portion corresponding to the fine pattern portion added to or subtracted from the mask pattern portion
Providing a first inspection region in a region including the above (step (4)), and setting a region other than the first inspection region in the pattern data of the inspection target mask as a second inspection region (Step (5)), a step of setting the inspection sensitivity in the first inspection area to be lower than the inspection sensitivity of the second inspection area (Step (6)), the mask pattern design data and the A step of obtaining a difference value from the pattern data of the mask to be inspected (step (7)); and a step of determining whether the difference value is normal or abnormal according to the sensitivity individually set in each inspection region (step (step (7)) 8)).

[Procedure amendment 10]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0028

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

In FIG. 1, a mask inspection apparatus 20 according to the present invention has a first storage means 8 for storing pattern data of a mask pattern portion having a plurality of desired patterns before performing proximity effect correction. A second storage means 9 for storing a plurality of pattern data of fine patterns to be added to or subtracted from a part of the mask pattern portion by proximity effect correction; Mask pattern design data creating means for selecting and combining the pattern data A1 of the portion and the pattern data A2, A3 of the fine pattern from the first and second storage means 8, 9 to form mask pattern design data 10, the mask pattern mounted on the mask stage 1 configured to be movable by appropriate stage control means 7 Total to be inspected mask 2 formed by the data, the microscope 3, CCD camera consists of four like the read optically inspected mask pattern data detection unit 11, an image obtained from the inspected mask pattern data detection means 11 image processing means for processing the data 5, for example, sensible of in the mask pattern on the inspected mask output from the inspection mask pattern data detection means 11
A binarized pattern data forming unit 12 for generating pattern data 200 obtained by binarizing a microscopic image; a desired pattern in the mask pattern design data 100 of the mask pattern data 200 of the binarized inspection target mask; The binarized pattern data is added to the peripheral region 300 of the binarized pattern data portion corresponding to the fine pattern portions A2 and A3 added to or subtracted from the mask pattern portion A1 having the pattern. Inspection area setting means 13 for providing a first inspection area B1 including a portion, and providing a second inspection area B2 in an area other than the first inspection area B1 in the pattern data of the mask to be inspected; A sensitivity control for setting the inspection sensitivity in the first inspection area B1 to a lower sensitivity than the inspection sensitivity in the second inspection area B2. Means 14, a calculating means 15 for obtaining a difference value between the mask pattern design data and the pattern data of the mask to be inspected, and determining whether the difference value is normal or abnormal according to the sensitivity individually set in each inspection area. It comprises a judging means 16 for judging and a central control means 6 for comprehensively controlling each of the above-mentioned means.

[Procedure amendment 11]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0029

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

According to another aspect of the present invention, pattern data of a mask pattern portion having a desired pattern before proximity effect correction is added to a part of the mask pattern portion by proximity effect correction. Or selecting one or more pattern data of one or more fine patterns subtracted from a part of the mask pattern portion and combining them with each other to create mask pattern design data corrected for proximity effect. A step of forming a mask using the mask pattern design data; a step of creating pattern data obtained by binarizing a microscope image of the mask pattern in the formed inspection target mask; Mask pattern portion having a desired pattern in the mask pattern design data in the mask pattern data Or it is added to, the corresponding to the subtracted fine pattern portion from the mask pattern portion
Providing a first inspection area in an area including the binarized pattern data portion; and setting a region other than the first inspection area in the pattern data of the mask to be inspected as a second inspection area; Setting the inspection sensitivity in the first inspection area to be lower than the inspection sensitivity in the second inspection area; and obtaining a difference value between the mask pattern design data and the pattern data of the inspection target mask. Determining whether the difference value is normal or abnormal according to the sensitivity individually set in each inspection area, and recording a program for causing a computer to execute a mask inspection method. It is a recording medium.

Claims (12)

[Claims] In a method of inspecting a mask pattern by comparing mask pattern design data obtained by proximity effect correction with pattern data of a mask created by the mask pattern design data, the mask pattern is inspected. In calculating a difference value between the design data and the pattern data of the mask, a first inspection area that is enlarged by a predetermined width with respect to the pattern data and the entire inspection area of the pattern data of the mask are calculated. A second inspection area excluding the first inspection area is set, and the first inspection area is set.
A different inspection sensitivity is applied between the inspection region and the second inspection region. 2. The mask pattern design data subjected to the proximity effect correction is added to pattern data of a mask pattern portion having a desired pattern before the proximity effect correction is performed and a part of the mask pattern portion by the proximity effect correction. Or 1 subtracted from a part of the mask pattern portion.
2. The mask inspection method according to claim 1, wherein the mask inspection method is configured by pattern data of a plurality of fine patterns. 3. The pattern data of the mask to be inspected is
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the peripheral portion of the pattern in the mask formed based on the mask pattern design data obtained by the proximity effect correction is constituted by binary data. Mask inspection method. 4. A fine pattern portion which is added to or subtracted from a mask pattern portion having a desired pattern in the mask pattern design data in the pattern data of the mask to be inspected. In the peripheral area of the corresponding binarized pattern data section,
4. The mask inspection method according to claim 1, wherein a first inspection area including the binary pattern data section is provided. 5. The mask inspection method according to claim 4, wherein the first inspection area enlarges an area constituting the binarized pattern data portion at a predetermined ratio. 6. The mask inspection method according to claim 4, wherein an area excluding the first inspection area in the pattern data of the inspection target mask is set as a second inspection area. . 7. The mask according to claim 1, wherein the inspection sensitivity in the first inspection area is set lower than the inspection sensitivity in the second inspection area. Inspection method. 8. The mask inspection method according to claim 7, wherein the sensitivity is adjusted by the number of pixels having a predetermined pixel size. 9. A pattern data of a mask pattern portion having a desired pattern before the proximity effect correction is performed and added to a part of the mask pattern portion by the proximity effect correction or from a part of the mask pattern portion. A step of selecting each of the subtracted pattern data of one or more fine patterns and combining them with each other to create mask pattern design data corrected for proximity effect, using the mask pattern design data to form a mask; Forming a pattern, a step of creating pattern data by binarizing the peripheral portion of the mask pattern in the formed inspection target mask, and a step of forming the mask pattern in the binarized mask pattern data of the inspection target mask It is added to the mask pattern portion having the desired pattern in the design data,
Providing a first inspection region including the binarized pattern data portion in a peripheral region of the binarized pattern data portion corresponding to the fine pattern portion subtracted from the mask pattern portion; In the pattern data, the first
Setting a region other than the inspection region of the second inspection region as a second inspection region, setting the inspection sensitivity in the first inspection region to a lower sensitivity than the inspection sensitivity of the second inspection region, the mask pattern design Determining a difference value between the data and the pattern data of the mask to be inspected, and determining whether the difference value is normal or abnormal according to the sensitivity individually set in each inspection region. Inspection method for masks, characterized in that 10. The difference value is represented by the number of pixels, the sensitivity in the first inspection area is set to a predetermined first number of pixels as a first threshold, and the second value is set to a second threshold. 10. The mask inspection method according to claim 9, wherein the number of pixels whose sensitivity in the inspection area is larger than the first number of pixels is set as the second threshold value. 11. A pattern data of a mask pattern portion having a desired pattern before the proximity effect correction is performed, and the pattern data is added to a part of the mask pattern portion by the proximity effect correction, or is added from a part of the mask pattern portion. A step of selecting each of the subtracted pattern data of one or more fine patterns and combining them with each other to create mask pattern design data corrected for proximity effect, using the mask pattern design data to form a mask; Forming a pattern, a step of creating pattern data by binarizing the peripheral portion of the mask pattern in the formed inspection target mask, and a step of forming the mask pattern in the binarized mask pattern data of the inspection target mask It is added to the mask pattern portion having the desired pattern in the design data,
Providing a first inspection region including the binarized pattern data portion in a peripheral region of the binarized pattern data portion corresponding to the fine pattern portion subtracted from the mask pattern portion; In the pattern data, the first
Setting a region other than the inspection region of the second inspection region as a second inspection region, setting the inspection sensitivity in the first inspection region to a lower sensitivity than the inspection sensitivity of the second inspection region, the mask pattern design Determining a difference value between the data and the pattern data of the mask to be inspected, and determining whether the difference value is normal or abnormal according to the sensitivity individually set in each inspection region. Recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to execute a mask inspection method is recorded. 12. A first storage means for storing pattern data of a mask pattern portion having a plurality of desired patterns before performing proximity effect correction, wherein the pattern data is added to a part of the mask pattern portion by proximity effect correction. Or second storage means for storing a plurality of pattern data of the fine pattern to be subtracted from a part of the mask pattern portion, and storing the pattern data of the mask pattern portion and the pattern data of the fine pattern in the first and the second patterns, respectively. Mask pattern design data creating means for forming mask pattern design data to be selected and combined from the second storage means; and inspected mask pattern data detection for optically reading the inspected mask formed by the mask pattern design data creating means Means, the test pattern output from the test mask pattern data detecting means. A binarized pattern data forming means for generating pattern data obtained by binarizing a peripheral portion of the mask pattern in the mask; and a binarized pattern data for the mask pattern design data of the binarized mask pattern to be inspected. Is added to the mask pattern portion having the desired pattern
A first inspection region including the binarized pattern data portion is provided in a peripheral region of the binarized pattern data portion corresponding to the fine pattern portion subtracted from the mask pattern portion, and a first inspection region of the mask to be inspected is provided. Inspection area setting means for providing a second inspection area in an area other than the first inspection area in the pattern data, the inspection sensitivity in the first inspection area is determined by the inspection sensitivity of the second inspection area. Sensitivity adjusting means for setting a lower sensitivity; calculating means for obtaining a difference value between the mask pattern design data and the pattern data of the mask to be inspected; sensitivity individually setting the difference value in each inspection area Determining means for determining whether the mask is normal or abnormal according to the following.