TWI600898B - Data correcting apparatus, drawing apparatus, inspection apparatus, data correcting method, drawing method, inspection method and recording medium carrying program - Google Patents

Description

Data correction device, drawing device, inspection device, data correction method, drawing method, inspection method, and recording medium on which the program is recorded

The present invention relates to a technique for correcting design information of a pattern formed on an object by etching.

In the past, in the manufacturing process of a printed circuit board, various processes have been applied to a substrate formed of an insulating material such as a resin. For example, a wiring pattern is formed on a substrate by forming a film of copper or the like on the surface of the substrate, forming a pattern of a resist on the film, and further applying etching. In the etching, the shape of the pattern formed on the substrate may be different from the design data due to the density of the pattern arrangement or the size of the pattern.

Japanese Patent No. 3074675 discloses a technique of forming a pattern by forming a resist pattern on a substrate by an electron beam direct drawing device and etching it by a plasma etching apparatus. Further, in the process of generating the electron beam direct drawing data based on the design data of the pattern, the process of correcting the pattern size change after etching caused by the micro load effect is proposed.

In Japanese Patent No. 4274784, it is proposed to use a picture material and design data of an etched substrate to obtain a desired etched substrate, and a resizing rule for displaying how to modify the design data is generated.

In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-134512, it is disclosed that a method for correcting the correction value of over-etching is specified for each space (distance) between the patterns when the photomask is produced. Further, when the straight line pattern and the circular arc pattern are opposed to each other, the opposing portion is further corrected.

In Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2013-12562, it is disclosed that a correction value is set based on the distance between adjacent contour shapes when a contour shape (a conductor pattern outer shape) is formed in consideration of side etching according to design data of a conductor pattern. Technology.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2013-250101 is a defect inspector regarding a wiring pattern formed by etching. In the defect inspection, the inspection information is generated by measuring the etching information (etching curve) based on the measurement pattern formed on the surface of the substrate, and etching the design data using the etching curve. Then, the defect of the wiring pattern is detected by comparing the image data of the wiring pattern on the substrate with the inspection data.

In recent years, in an apparatus for etching a substrate, in order to improve productivity, a large substrate in which a plurality of identical blocks (patterns) are arranged is etched. Therefore, depending on the position on the substrate, the etching characteristics are different, and even if the etching is performed on the same block, the etching result may be different. Therefore, it is considered to obtain a plurality of etching characteristics for a plurality of positions on the substrate, and to modify the design data based on the plurality of etching characteristics. However, it is not limited to obtaining all the etching characteristics properly, and it is also possible to obtain abnormal etching characteristics. In this case, the accuracy of the correction of the design data is degraded.

The present invention relates to a data correction device for correcting design data of a pattern formed on an object by etching, and an object thereof is to correct design data more reliably and accurately.

The data correction device of the present invention comprises: a design data storage unit that memorizes design data of a pattern formed on the object by etching; and an etching characteristic memory unit that memorizes a plurality of types of object positions on the object Etching characteristics; an abnormality detecting unit that is formed by etching characteristics of each object position and around each of the object positions The etching characteristics of the target position group are compared, and the specific etching characteristics are detected as abnormal etching characteristics. The characteristic replacing unit obtains new etching characteristics using the target position group located around the target position of the abnormal etching characteristics. The etching characteristic replaces the abnormal etching characteristic with the new etching characteristic; and the data correcting unit corrects the design data based on a plurality of etching characteristics of the plurality of object positions.

According to the present invention, it is possible to correct the design data more reliably and accurately by replacing the abnormal etching characteristics with the new etching characteristics.

According to a preferred aspect of the present invention, in the detecting process, an etching characteristic obtained by using a target position group located around each of the target positions is obtained, and an etching characteristic and an etching characteristic of each of the target positions are obtained. The value of the distance between the two.

In this case, it is preferable that the etching characteristic is obtained by the interpolation operation using the etching characteristics of the target position group.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the abnormal characteristic detecting unit detects the abnormal etching characteristic, excludes the abnormal etching characteristic, and performs the detection processing again to detect another abnormal etching characteristic.

The present invention also relates to a drawing device for drawing a pattern on an object. The drawing device of the present invention comprises: the above-mentioned data correction device; a light source; a light modulation unit that modulates light from the light source based on design data corrected by the data correction device; and a scanning mechanism The object is scanned for light modulated by the light modulation unit.

The present invention also relates to an inspection apparatus for inspecting a pattern formed on an object by etching. The inspection apparatus of the present invention includes: the above-described data correction device; an actual image storage unit that stores image data of a pattern formed on an object by etching, that is, inspection image data; and a defect detection unit by The design data corrected by the data correction device is compared with the inspection image data to detect a defect of the pattern formed on the object.

The invention also relates to a design for correcting a pattern formed on an object by etching. The data correction method of the data, the drawing method of drawing the pattern on the object, the inspection method of inspecting the pattern formed on the object by etching, and the recording medium on which the program is recorded.

The above and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings.

1‧‧‧Drawing device

1a‧‧‧Inspection device

2‧‧‧ data processing device

3‧‧‧Exposure device

8‧‧‧Recording media

9‧‧‧Substrate

9a‧‧‧Test substrate

21‧‧‧Data correction device

21a‧‧‧Data correction device

22‧‧‧Data Conversion Department

25‧‧‧ Actual Image Memory Department

26‧‧‧Defect Detection Department

31‧‧‧Drawing controller

32‧‧‧ stage

33‧‧‧Lighting Department

35‧‧‧Scanning agency

80‧‧‧ program

83‧‧‧ design pattern

84‧‧‧block pattern

93‧‧‧ test pattern

95‧‧‧Characteristic acquisition pattern

96‧‧‧Measurement pattern

201‧‧‧CPU

202‧‧‧ROM

203‧‧‧RAM

204‧‧‧ Hard disk

205‧‧‧ display

206a‧‧‧ keyboard

206b‧‧‧mouse

207‧‧‧Read/write device

208‧‧‧Communication Department

211‧‧‧Design Data Memory Department

212‧‧‧ Etching Characteristics Memory

213‧‧‧Abnormal characteristic detection department

214‧‧‧Characteristic Replacement Department

215‧‧‧ Characteristic Group Acquisition Department

217‧‧‧ Data Correction Department

331‧‧‧Light source

332‧‧‧Light Modulation Department

951‧‧‧1st graphic element group

952‧‧‧1st graphic element

953‧‧‧2nd graphic element group

954‧‧‧2nd graphical element

A1‧‧‧Rectangle

D1‧‧‧ distance

E‧‧‧etching amount

G‧‧‧ gap width

L‧‧‧etching curve

La‧‧‧etching curve

Lb‧‧‧ reference etching curve

P‧‧‧Target location

S11~S22‧‧‧Steps

X‧‧‧ directions

Y‧‧‧ direction

Fig. 1 is a view showing the configuration of a drawing device according to the first embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a view showing the configuration of a data processing device.

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the function of the data processing apparatus.

Figure 4 is a diagram showing the depiction flow of the depiction device.

Figure 5 is a plan view of the test substrate.

Fig. 6 is a view showing a part of a pattern for obtaining characteristics.

Fig. 7 is a view showing an enlarged portion of a measurement pattern.

Figure 8 is a diagram showing an etching curve.

Fig. 9 is a view showing the position of an object included in each characteristic group.

Figure 10 is a diagram showing a design pattern.

Fig. 11 is a block diagram showing the function of the inspection apparatus of the second embodiment.

Figure 12 is a diagram showing a part of the inspection flow of the inspection device.

Fig. 1 is a view showing the configuration of the drawing device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The drawing device 1 is a direct drawing device that directly draws an image such as a circuit pattern on a resist film by irradiating light onto a resist film which is a photosensitive material provided on the surface of the substrate 9. The substrate 9 is formed of, for example, an insulating material, and a film of a conductive material such as copper is provided on the surface. The substrate 9 is used to manufacture a printed substrate. The substrate 9 which has been patterned by the drawing device 1 is subjected to development and etching in a substrate processing apparatus or the like (not shown). Thereby, a pattern is formed on the substrate 9. The etching of the substrate 9 is wet etching by, for example, applying an etching liquid to the substrate 9. Further, as the etching of the substrate 9, dry etching using, for example, plasma may be performed.

The drawing device 1 includes a data processing device 2 and an exposure device 3. The data processing device 2 corrects the design data of the pattern drawn on the substrate 9 to generate the drawing material. The exposure device 3 performs drawing (i.e., exposure) of the substrate 9 based on the drawing data transmitted from the material processing device 2. The data processing device 2 and the exposure device 3 may be physically separated as long as the data between the two devices can be transferred, and of course, may be integrally provided.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the configuration of the data processing device 2. The data processing device 2 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201 that performs various types of arithmetic processing, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202 that stores a basic program, and a RAM that stores various kinds of information (Random Access). Memory: Random access memory) 203 is a general computer system. The data processing device 2 further includes: a hard disk 204 for performing information storage; a display 205 for displaying various information such as images; a keyboard 206a and a mouse 206b for receiving input from an operator; reading/writing The device 207 reads and writes information from a computer readable recording medium 8 such as a CD, a magnetic disk, or a magneto-optical disk; and the communication unit 208 transmits and receives signals between the other components of the drawing device 1 and the like. .

In the material processing device 2, the program 80 is read from the recording medium 8 via the reading/writing device 207 and memorized to the hard disk 204. The CPU 201 realizes a function to be described later by performing arithmetic processing (that is, executing a program by a computer) by using the RAM 203 or the hard disk 204 in accordance with the program 80.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the function of the data processing device 2. In Fig. 3, a part (the drawing controller 31) of the configuration of the exposure device 3 connected to the data processing device 2 is shown together. The data processing device 2 includes a material correction device 21 and a data conversion unit 22. The data correction device 21 corrects the design information of the pattern formed on the substrate 9 by etching. The data correction device 21 includes a design data storage unit 211, an etching characteristic storage unit 212, an abnormality characteristic detecting unit 213, a characteristic replacing unit 214, a characteristic group obtaining unit 215, and a material correcting unit 217. The data conversion unit 22 inputs design data corrected by the data correction device 21 (hereinafter referred to as "Fixed data"). The corrected data is usually vector data such as polygons. The data conversion unit 22 converts the corrected data, which is a vector data, into raster data, that is, rendering data. The function of the data processing device 2 can be realized by a dedicated electrical circuit, or a dedicated electrical circuit can be partially used.

As shown in FIG. 1, the exposure device 3 includes a drawing controller 31, a stage 32, a light emitting portion 33, and a scanning mechanism 35. The drawing controller 31 controls the light emitting portion 33 and the scanning mechanism 35. The stage 32 holds the substrate 9 below the light exit portion 33. The light emitting portion 33 includes a light source 331 and a light modulation portion 332. The light source 331 emits laser light toward the light modulation portion 332. The light modulation unit 332 modulates the light from the light source 331. The light modulated by the light modulation unit 332 is irradiated onto the substrate 9 on the stage 32. As the optical modulation unit 332, for example, a DMD (Digital Mirror Device) in which a plurality of optical modulation elements are two-dimensionally arranged is used. The light modulation unit 332 may be a modulator or the like that arranges a plurality of optical modulation elements in one dimension.

The scanning mechanism 35 moves the stage 32 in the horizontal direction. Specifically, the scanning mechanism 35 moves the stage 32 in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction, thereby modulating the light modulated by the optical modulation unit 332 on the substrate 9. The upper side scans in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction. In the exposure device 3, a rotation mechanism that rotates the stage 32 horizontally may be provided. Further, an elevating mechanism that moves the light emitting portion 33 in the vertical direction may be provided. The scanning mechanism 35 is not necessarily a mechanism for moving the stage 32 as long as it can scan the light from the light emitting portion 33 on the substrate 9. For example, the light emitting portion 33 may be moved above the stage 32 in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction by the scanning mechanism 35.

Next, a description will be given of a drawing flow of the drawing device 1 with reference to FIG. First, a substrate for testing on which a resist film is formed on one main surface (the same shape and size as the substrate 9 drawn in step S20 to be described later, hereinafter referred to as "test substrate") is drawn by the exposure device 3. Specific test pattern.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the test substrate 9a after the test pattern 93 is drawn by the exposure device 3. In fact, the test pattern 93 on the test substrate 9a can be used as a development process. The resist pattern is visually recognized. Here, the position, shape, and size of each of the graphic elements of the test pattern 93 of FIG. 5 are set to exactly match the pattern shown in the design data for the test pattern (however, the correction using the data correction device 21 is not performed). That is, the test pattern 93 of Fig. 5 is the pattern itself shown in the design data for the test pattern. The test substrate 9a of FIG. 5 has a rectangular shape, and in FIG. 5, the direction of the two sides orthogonal to each other on the test substrate 9a is shown as the x direction and the y direction.

The test pattern 93 includes a plurality of patterns 95 for obtaining characteristics. In FIG. 5, the characteristic acquisition pattern 95 is shown in a rectangle. Each of the plurality of characteristic obtaining patterns 95 is used to form a drawing pattern of a measurement pattern to be described later by processing such as development, etching, and resist stripping. In the example of FIG. 5, a plurality of characteristic acquisition patterns 95 are arranged at a constant pitch in the x direction and the y direction. The position (for example, the center of the pattern) P at which each characteristic acquisition pattern 95 is placed is referred to as a "target position", and a plurality of object positions P are set on the test substrate 9a. The number of object positions P on the test substrate 9a is, for example, four or more, and preferably nine or more. Each of the characteristic acquisition patterns 95 includes a plurality of graphic elements. The rectangle in which the characteristic acquisition pattern 95 is shown in FIG. 5 includes a rectangle having substantially the smallest of all of the plurality of graphic elements.

Fig. 6 is a view showing a part of the characteristic obtaining pattern 95 in an enlarged manner. In the example shown in FIG. 6, the characteristic acquisition pattern 95 includes a plurality of first graphic element groups 951. Each of the first pattern element groups 951 includes two first linear element elements 952 extending substantially parallel to each other in the y direction. The gap width G between the two first pattern elements 952 of each of the first pattern element groups 951 (that is, the width of the gap between the two first pattern elements 952 perpendicular to the longitudinal direction in the x direction) and the other first pattern element group 951 The gap width G between the two first graphic elements 952 is different.

A resist pattern showing the test pattern 93 is formed on the test substrate 9a by development processing on the test substrate 9a. Then, by etching the resist pattern as a mask on the test substrate 9a, and performing a process such as resist peeling, a plurality of patterns for displaying a plurality of characteristics are formed on the main surface of the test substrate 9a. The pattern was measured.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view showing a part of the measurement pattern 96 corresponding to the characteristic obtaining pattern 95. Picture. The measurement pattern 96 includes a plurality of second graphic element groups 953 that respectively display a plurality of first graphic element groups 951. In FIG. 7, one second graphic element group 953 is enlarged. Each of the second graphic element groups 953 includes two second graphic elements 954 that are substantially linear in shape corresponding to the two first graphic elements 952. The second pattern element 954 is formed by etching using a portion of the first pattern element 952 of the resist pattern. In FIG. 7, the outline of the first graphic element 952 is displayed together with a two-dot chain line.

Here, the side (the portion of the outline) of each of the second pattern elements 954 forming the gap between the two second pattern elements 954 in each of the second pattern element groups 953 and the first pattern element 952 corresponding to the side The distance between the sides (the distance in the direction perpendicular to the portion where the outline of the gap is formed) is referred to as the etching amount E. The etching amount E indicates the amount of movement of the side of the second pattern element 954 between the two second pattern elements 954 with respect to the side of each of the first pattern elements 952 (the amount of variation of one side of the contour line). The etching amount E changes depending on the gap width G between the two first pattern elements 952 corresponding to the two second image elements 954. The relationship between the gap width G and the etching amount E is obtained by taking an image of the measurement pattern 96 by photographing the test substrate 9a, and comparing the image with the design data of the characteristic acquisition pattern 95.

Fig. 8 is a view showing an etching curve showing the relationship between the gap width G and the etching amount E. In Fig. 8, nine etching curves L are shown in solid lines (the symbol La is indicated for one etching curve shown by a thick solid line). In the etching curve L, as a whole, the etching amount E gradually decreases as the gap width G becomes smaller. Further, although the etching amount E is substantially proportional to the gap width G within a certain range of the gap width G, when the gap width G is small, the etching amount E is drastically reduced with respect to the decrease in the gap width G. In other words, if the gap width G becomes small, the slope of the etching curve L becomes large.

In the plurality of characteristic obtaining patterns 95, since the position on the test substrate 9a (that is, the target position P) is different, the shape of the etching curve L or the etching amount E of each gap width G is different from each other. In the present processing example, a plurality of etching patterns are obtained from the plurality of characteristic obtaining patterns 95, respectively. In other words, a plurality of etching curves are obtained for a plurality of object positions P. In addition, in FIG. 8, the etching curve L is displayed by connecting the etching amount E of the gap width G of the plurality of first pattern element groups 951 included in each of the characteristic obtaining patterns 95 by a straight line. In the present embodiment, the magnitude or the number of the gap widths G of the etching amount E is different in the plurality of characteristic obtaining patterns 95.

The feature acquisition pattern 95 may also include graphic elements of various shapes other than a rectangle and a group of graphic elements of various combinations. For example, the characteristic acquisition pattern 95 may include a plurality of circular pattern elements having different diameters, and an etching curve indicating the relationship between the diameter of the circular pattern element and the etching amount may be obtained. For the type of the etching curve, a plurality of etching curves corresponding to the plurality of object positions P may be obtained. In the following description, one or a plurality of etching curves of the respective target positions P on the test substrate 9a and the substrate 9 are collectively referred to as "etching characteristics". The etching characteristics are typically represented by the width of the gap (design gap) between the pattern elements adjacent to each other in the pattern shown in the design data, and the gap (actual gap) between the pattern elements of the pattern formed by etching. The relationship between widths.

In the drawing device 1, one or a plurality of etching curves for each object position P are stored in the etching characteristic storage portion 212. In other words, a plurality of etching characteristics for a plurality of object positions P are stored in the etching characteristic storage unit 212, and preparation is performed for a process to be described later (step S11). Further, a plurality of etching characteristics may be obtained in a device other than the drawing device 1 or in the drawing device 1. When the drawing device 1 acquires the etching characteristics, the drawing device 1 is provided with an image capturing unit that acquires an image of the measurement pattern 96 (see FIG. 7), and an image and characteristic acquisition pattern based on the measurement pattern 96. The design data of 95 (see FIG. 6) is used to obtain an etching characteristic calculation unit for etching characteristics of each target position P (the same as in the inspection apparatus 1a of the second embodiment).

The abnormality detecting unit 213 obtains a determination value of the etching characteristic for each target position P (step S12). For example, in the calculation of the determination value of the etching characteristic of the target position P by the target position P, the first object position P located around the target position P is specified as the reference position. group. Reference object bit The group is, for example, a set of object positions P that are closest to the distance from the target position P (for example, 8 to 20, which is sufficiently smaller than the total number of other object positions P), and does not include the target position P. The reference object position group may be a set of all object positions P included in a circle having a specific radius centered on the target position P, or a (+x) side, (+y) side with respect to the target position P ( A set of a certain number of object positions P adjacent to each of the -x) side and the (-y) side.

Next, based on the etching characteristics of the reference target position group, the etching characteristics for the target position P are estimated. As described above, although the etching characteristics are obtained by the measurement of the measurement pattern 96 at the target position P, the etching characteristic of the reference target position group based only on the position of the target object P is obtained for the target position P. The estimated etching characteristics (etching characteristics referred to in the processing to be described later are hereinafter referred to as "reference etching characteristics"). In the following description, the target position P included in the reference target position group is referred to as "reference target position P".

The reference etching characteristic is based on the positional relationship between the target object position P and the plurality of reference object positions P included in the reference target position group, and weights the plurality of etching characteristics of the plurality of reference object positions P based on the weighting A plurality of etching characteristics are obtained. Further, the weighting of the plurality of etching characteristics is performed, for example, by multiplying the weighting coefficient based on the distance between the reference target position P and the target position P corresponding to each etching characteristic by the etching characteristic.

Here, by performing the weighting of the etching curve of the etching characteristic of the reference target position P by the interpolation of the two-dimensional thin plate spline, the etching curve of the reference etching characteristic of the target position P is obtained (hereinafter referred to as "reference" Etching curve"). In the following description, for the purpose of understanding, the four reference object positions P (the four reference object positions P formed in the rectangle including the target position P) are specified for the target position P. The four reference object positions P are set to be in the first to fourth quadrants in the xy coordinate plane whose origin is the origin of the target position P.

With reference to the acquisition of the etching curve, first, by the distance between the target position P and the two reference object positions P on the (+y) side of the four reference object positions P, (+ The etch curve of the two reference object positions P on the y side is linearly interpolated to obtain a first interpolation etch curve. Specifically, the distance between the reference target position P and the target target position P in the x direction is set to d1, and the other reference target position P and the target position P are set. When the distance between the x directions is d2, (d2/(d1+d2)) is multiplied by the etching coefficient (the etching amount) of the reference object position P as a weighting coefficient. Further, (d1/(d1+d2)) is multiplied by the etching coefficient of the other reference object position P as a weighting coefficient. Then, the first interpolation etching curve is obtained by adding the multiplication results for the two etching curves.

Similarly, by the distance between the above-mentioned target position P and the two reference object positions P on the (-y) side of the four reference target positions P, the two on the (-y) side are The second interpolation etch curve is obtained by linearly interpolating the etching curve of the reference object position P. Specifically, the distance between the reference target position P and the target target position P in the x direction is set to d3, and the other reference target position P and the target position P are set. When the distance between the x directions is d4, (d4/(d3+d4)) is multiplied by the etching curve of the reference object position P as a weighting coefficient. Further, (d3/(d3+d4)) is multiplied by the etching coefficient of the other reference object position P as a weighting coefficient. Then, the second interpolation etching curve is obtained by adding the multiplication results of the two etching curves.

Then, by the distance between the target position P and the y direction between the two reference object positions P on the (-x) side or the (+x) side of the four reference object positions P, the first inner The interpolation etch curve and the second interpolation etch curve are linearly interpolated to obtain a reference etch curve. Specifically, the distance between the reference target position P on the (+y) side of the two reference target positions P and the target target position P in the y direction is d5, and the reference to the (-y) side is used. When the distance between the object position P and the target position P in the y direction is d6, (d6/(d5+d6)) is multiplied by the first interpolation etching curve as a weighting coefficient. Also, (d5/(d5+d6)) is used as the weighting The coefficient is multiplied by the second interpolated etch curve. Then, the reference etching curve is obtained by adding the multiplication results of the two interpolation etching curves (that is, based on the plurality of etching curves subjected to the above-described weighting). In addition, the reference etching curve can also be obtained by other interpolation operations.

When the reference etching curve is acquired for the target position P, the dispersion between the etching curve obtained by measuring the measurement pattern 96 of the target position P and the reference etching curve is obtained. For example, the difference (absolute value) between the etching curve obtained by the measurement and the etching amount E of the reference etching curve is obtained for each of the predetermined plurality of gap widths G. Then, the maximum value of the difference of the plurality of gap widths G is obtained as the dispersion of the two etching curves.

In the example of FIG. 8, the dispersion between the measured etching curve indicated by the thick solid line of the symbol La and the reference etching curve indicated by the dotted line of the reference symbol Lb is indicated by the arrow indicated by the symbol D1. The distance. Further, the etching curve La has a twisted shape as compared with the other etching curve L, and is considered to be, for example, a drawing of the characteristic obtaining pattern 95, an etching of the measurement pattern 96, or an error in measurement.

As an example of FIG. 8, when the etching curve La obtained by the measurement includes the etching amount E which is discrete with respect to the reference etching curve Lb, the dispersion becomes large. The reference etching curve Lb is based on the etching curve of the reference target position group, and it is considered that the etching curve which is the most reasonable for the target position P, and the etching curve La including the etching amount E which is discrete with respect to the reference etching curve Lb, can be said to be the reference object. The etching curve of the position group is more specific than the etching curve. The specific etching curve typically has an abnormal shape compared to the etching curve of the reference object position group. It is also possible to set a specific etching curve as compared with the etching curve of the reference target position group, in which the overall etching amount E is different. Further, in the calculation of the dispersion, the number (sample number) and the value of the plurality of gap widths G for which the difference is obtained can be arbitrarily determined, and it is not necessary to match the gap width G between the first pattern elements 952 of the test pattern 93. . In the etching curve, the etching amount of the gap width different from the gap width G between the first pattern elements 952 can be obtained by various interpolation calculations.

In the case where the etching characteristic contains only one etching curve, the dispersion becomes The judgment value of the etching characteristic of the target position P is noted. In the case where the etching characteristics include a plurality of etching curves, the same processing as described above is performed for the types of all the etching curves, and the sum of the dispersions, the average value, the maximum value, and the like of the plurality of etching curves become the above-described determination values.

In the abnormality detecting unit 213, the above-described processing is repeated with each target position P as the target position P, and the determination value of the etching characteristics for all the target positions P is obtained. The higher the specificity of the etching characteristic obtained by the measurement of the target position P, the higher the determination value of the etching characteristic of the target position P, as compared with the etching characteristic of the reference target position group around the target position P.

Next, the largest determination value among the determination values of the etching characteristics of all the object positions P is compared with a specific threshold. When the maximum determination value is larger than the threshold value (step S13), the etching characteristic of the maximum determination value (the etching characteristic obtained by the measurement) is detected as the abnormal etching characteristic. As described above, in the processing of steps S12 and S13 described above, the specific etching characteristics are detected as the detection processing of the abnormal etching characteristics in comparison with the etching characteristics of the reference target position group. As described above, in the processing of the above-described step S12, the determination value is obtained based on the difference (comparison) with the reference etching characteristics obtained by using the etching characteristics of the respective target positions P and the etching characteristics of the reference target position group. Therefore, it can be said that in the above-described detection processing, the etching characteristics of the respective target positions P and the etching characteristics of the reference target position groups corresponding to the target position P are substantially compared.

When the abnormality detecting unit 213 detects the abnormal etching characteristic, the abnormal etching characteristic is excluded from the processing target of the detection processing (step S14). Next, in the same manner as the above-described processing, all the etching characteristics included in the current processing target, that is, the determination values of all the etching characteristics except the abnormal etching characteristics are obtained (step S12). Then, when the maximum determination value is larger than the threshold value (step S13), the etching characteristic of the maximum determination value is detected as the abnormal etching characteristic, and the processing target of the self-detection processing is excluded (step S14). Thus, in steps S12 to S14, in the detection process, whenever an abnormal etching characteristic is detected, The object is excluded from the abnormal etching characteristic, and the detection process is performed again, and another abnormal etching characteristic is detected.

In the case where the maximum determination value is equal to or less than the threshold value in step S13, the characteristic replacing unit 214 obtains new etching characteristics for the target position P of each abnormal etching characteristic. Specifically, the etching characteristics of the target position group around the target position P of each abnormal etching characteristic are used, and the same etching operation is obtained by the same interpolation as the above-mentioned reference etching characteristic (as will be described later) It is an alternative etching characteristic for the abnormal etching property, and is hereinafter also referred to as "alternative etching property"). At this time, since the target position P of the abnormal etching characteristics is not included in the target position group, the abnormal etching characteristics are not used in place of the calculation of the etching characteristics. Further, the number of the target position groups is sufficiently smaller than the total number of other object positions P, and may be different from the number of object positions P included in the reference target position group when the reference etching characteristic is obtained.

When an alternative etching characteristic is obtained for the target position P of each abnormal etching characteristic, the abnormal etching characteristic is replaced with the alternative etching characteristic (step S15). In this manner, each abnormal etching characteristic is replaced with a new etching characteristic which is considered to be most reasonable based on the etching characteristics of the target position group located around the target position P of the abnormal etching characteristic. In the processing of the following characteristic group acquisition unit 215, the alternative etching characteristics are also simply referred to as "etching characteristics".

Next, the characteristic group acquisition unit 215 acquires a plurality of characteristic groups (step S16). The feature set only contains a set of object positions P corresponding to mutually similar etch characteristics. In the acquisition processing of the characteristic group, first, the number of characteristic groups (hereinafter referred to as "the number of setting groups") is determined. The number of set groups is determined by the operator by input or the like. The number of sets can also be determined in advance.

Next, the object positions P of the set number of groups are randomly specified and assigned to the characteristic groups of the set number of groups. The etching characteristics of the object position P assigned to each characteristic group are treated as etching characteristics (hereinafter referred to as "group etching characteristics") associated with the characteristic group. Then, an etching characteristic indicating the position P of each object and a group etching characteristic of each characteristic group are obtained. The value of the degree of similarity (here, the higher the similarity between the two is the smaller value, the following is called the "similarity evaluation value").

For example, in the calculation of the similarity evaluation values of the etching characteristics of a target position P and the group etching characteristics of a characteristic group, each of the predetermined plurality of gap widths is obtained from the two etching curves respectively included in the two etching characteristics. The difference in the amount of etching (absolute value). Next, the sum of the differences of the plurality of gap widths is obtained as the distance between the two etching curves. The distance between the two etching curves corresponds to the area of the area between the two etching curves. In the case where the etching characteristics include only one etching curve, the distance becomes the above-described similarity evaluation value. In the case where the etching characteristics include a plurality of etching curves, the sum of the distances of the plurality of etching curves and the like becomes the above-described similarity evaluation value.

When the similarity evaluation value of each of the characteristic groups of the set number of groups is obtained for each target position P, the target position P is assigned to the characteristic group in which the similarity evaluation value becomes the smallest. In this manner, based on the similarity evaluation values of the etching characteristics of the respective etching characteristics and the group etching characteristics of each of the characteristic groups, a grouping process of any one of the characteristic groups including the target position P corresponding to the etching characteristics in the set number of groups is performed. By group processing, at least one object position P is included in each characteristic group.

When the end condition described later is not satisfied, the group etching characteristics of each characteristic group are obtained again. At this time, the group etching characteristics of the characteristic group are obtained from the etching characteristics of all the object positions P included in the respective characteristic groups by the previous grouping processing. Specifically, regarding the etching curve of all the object positions P included in each of the characteristic groups, an etching curve indicating a representative value such as an average value or a central value of the etching amount of each gap width is obtained as a group etching characteristic. Etching curve. In addition, the representative value of the etching amount of each gap width may be a value indicating the vicinity of the center of the distribution of the etching amount. Further, the etching curve of the group etching characteristics of each of the characteristic groups may be an etching curve itself of one of the object positions P in the vicinity of the center of the distribution of the etching curves of the plurality of object positions P included in the characteristic group.

Then, similarly to the above, the similarity evaluation value of each etching characteristic and the group etching characteristic of each characteristic group is obtained, and the object position P is included in any one based on the similarity evaluation value. New grouping process for the feature group (redistribution of object location P). In other words, the object position P included in each attribute group is updated. When the target position P included in each of the updated characteristic groups is different from the target position P included in the characteristic group before the update, since the end condition is not satisfied, the acquisition of the group etching characteristics and the grouping processing are repeated. . When the target position P included in each of the updated characteristic groups coincides with the target position P included in the characteristic group before the update, the group etching characteristic is obtained and the grouping processing is ended as the end condition is satisfied. repeatedly. That is, the acquisition processing of the feature group is completed. In the following description, the characteristic group when the end condition is satisfied is referred to as "determination characteristic group".

By the above-described processing by the characteristic group acquisition unit 215, the object position P corresponding to the etching characteristics similar to each other is included in one determination characteristic group, and the plurality of (all) object positions P are divided into more than the plurality of object positions P. The set of determining characteristics of the number of groups is small. As described above, the abnormal characteristic detecting unit 213 detects the abnormal etching characteristics and replaces them with the alternative etching characteristics, so that the grouping (grouping) of the determined characteristic groups can be performed with high precision. In FIG. 9, the width of the parallel hatching of the rectangular shape of the display characteristic obtaining pattern 95 is changed to three types, and the object position P included in the three determining characteristic groups is displayed. Further, the termination condition may be a case where the acquisition of the above-described group of etching characteristics and the number of repetitions of the grouping process are reached a predetermined number of times.

The group etching characteristics of the plurality of characteristic groups finally obtained are respectively determined as representative etching characteristics of a plurality of determining characteristic groups. In the processing described later, the representative etching characteristics of each of the determined characteristic groups are treated as the etching characteristics of the target position P included in the determined characteristic group.

Next, in the drawing device 1, the design data of the pattern formed by etching on the substrate 9 is input to the material correction device 21, and is memorized in the design data storage unit 211 (step S17).

Figure 10 is a diagram showing a design pattern 83 shown in the design data. In Fig. 10, the outer shape of the substantially rectangular substrate 9 which is intended to depict the design pattern 83 is displayed with a thick two-dot chain line. The design pattern 83 includes a plurality of block patterns 84 arranged in a matrix (i.e., multi-faceted). Complex block diagram The case 84 is a pattern element constituting the design pattern 83, and the design pattern 83 is a set of a plurality of pattern elements, that is, a pattern element group. In FIG. 10, the block pattern 84 is shown in a rectangle.

The rectangular shape of each block pattern 84 is shown in FIG. 10 to surround the substantially smallest rectangle of all of the plurality of graphic elements included in the block pattern 84. In the example of FIG. 10, the two directions corresponding to the two sides orthogonal to the substrate 9 displayed by the two-dot chain line (in FIG. 10, the same as FIG. 5 and the like are shown as the x direction and the y direction), two-dimensionally A plurality of block patterns 84 are arranged. The block patterns 84 are the same pattern as each other.

Since the design pattern 83 is a pattern that is intended to be drawn on the substrate 9, it can be understood that a plurality of object positions P are also set in the design pattern 83. Similarly, it is also understood that a position at which each of the block patterns 84 is predetermined to be drawn on the substrate 9 (hereinafter simply referred to as "the position of the block pattern 84") is set.

The data correcting unit 217 extracts a plurality of divided data (data blocks) of the plurality of block patterns 84 from the design data of the design pattern 83. In other words, the design data of the design pattern 83 is divided into a plurality of pieces of divided data in which a plurality of block patterns 84 are respectively displayed. Further, the closest object position P is specified for the position of the block pattern 84 (for example, the center of the block pattern 84) indicated by each divided material. Then, the segmentation data is corrected based on the etching characteristic of the target position P, that is, the representative etching characteristic of the determination characteristic group to which the target position P belongs, and the corrected segmentation data for displaying each block pattern 84 is obtained (step S18). . In addition, in FIG. 9, the area which sets each object position P to the closest target position P is shown by the rectangle A1 of the two-point chain line, and is the same also in FIG. The rectangle A1 is centered on the object position P.

In the correction of the divided data, in consideration of the position of each of the block patterns 84 on the substrate 9, etching is performed in an excessive amount (i.e., exceeding a required amount) in accordance with the etching characteristics. That is, the representative etching characteristics of the characteristic set are determined substantially in accordance with the etching characteristics of the positions of the respective block patterns 84, so that the respective pattern elements of the pattern on the substrate 9 after etching are formed in a desired line width or size. , to widen the line width of the graphic elements of each divided data, or to expand the correction of the graphic elements.

Here, when a region (block) on the substrate 9 on which each block pattern 84 is drawn is referred to as a divided region, the material correction unit 217 first divides the design data of the design pattern 83 into respective settings and in step S18. The plurality of divided regions on the substrate 9 correspond to the divided data. Then, each of the divided data is corrected based on one of the closest target positions P of the divided regions corresponding to the divided data to determine the etching characteristics (representing etching characteristics) of the characteristic group. In this way, the corrected segmentation data is obtained by performing etching correction on each of the divided data.

As described above, in the example shown in FIG. 10, the division pattern displayed by the plurality of pieces of division data of the design data, that is, the block pattern 84 is the same. Therefore, the corrected divided data obtained by using the representative etching characteristics of each of the determined characteristic groups can be directly used as the divided data of the other divided regions in which the target position P included in the characteristic group is the closest target position. Thereby, the number of executions of the etching correction of the divided data is reduced, and the acquisition (etching correction) of the plurality of corrected divided data corresponding to the plurality of divided regions is completed in a short time. In FIG. 10, the block pattern 84 using the same corrected divided data is represented by making the widths of the parallel oblique lines of the rectangles of the display block pattern 84 uniform.

The data correction unit 217 generates the corrected data by unifying the plurality of corrected divided data described above. The corrected data is transmitted from the material correction device 21 to the material conversion unit 22. The data conversion unit 22 converts the corrected data of the vector data into raster data, that is, the drawing data (step S19).

This drawing data is transmitted from the material conversion unit 22 to the drawing controller 31 of the exposure device 3. In the exposure device 3, the light-modulating portion 332 and the scanning mechanism 35 of the light-emitting portion 33 are controlled by the drawing controller 31 based on the drawing data from the data processing device 2, and the substrate 9 is drawn (step S20). . The substrate 9 which has been drawn is subjected to various processes such as development and etching under the same conditions as the test substrate 9a. As described above, a film of a conductive material such as copper is provided on the surface of the substrate 9, and a plurality of independent wiring patterns respectively displaying the block patterns 84 are formed on the substrate 9 by the above-described processing.

Actually, a plurality of substrates 9 having the same design pattern 83 as a drawing target are sequentially drawn using the same corrected data. Further, when the design pattern is changed, that is, when a new design pattern is used as the drawing target, the representative etching characteristics of the plurality of determining characteristic groups are directly used, and the new design pattern is used to perform steps S17 and S18 to generate corrected data. . Then, based on the corrected data, the drawing of the substrate 9 is performed.

However, in the detection processing of the abnormality detecting unit 213, when the abnormal etching characteristics are detected, it is considered to use a general statistical test. In the statistical verification, the statistical scale of the standard deviation of the parent group is used. However, since the etching characteristics differ depending on the position on the substrate 9, it is difficult to detect abnormal etching characteristics by statistical verification.

On the other hand, in the data correction device 21, the specific etching characteristics are detected by the detection processing of comparing the etching characteristics of the respective target positions P with the etching characteristics of the reference target position groups located around the target position P. As an abnormal etching characteristic. Thereby, the abnormal etching characteristics can be appropriately detected. Further, a new etching characteristic (instead of etching characteristics) is obtained using the etching characteristics of the target position group around the target position P of the abnormal etching property, and the abnormal etching characteristic is replaced with the new etching characteristic. The design data is then corrected based on a plurality of etching characteristics for a plurality of object positions P. In this way, the design data can be corrected more accurately and accurately by replacing the abnormal etching characteristics with new etching characteristics.

Further, in the abnormality detecting unit 213, the reference etching characteristic is obtained by interpolation calculation using the etching characteristics of the reference target position group for each target position P, and the reference etching characteristic and the target position P are obtained. The judgment value of the distance between the etching characteristics. By using the reference etching characteristic which is considered to be the most reasonable based on the etching characteristic of the reference etching characteristic group, the abnormal etching characteristic can be accurately detected.

However, in the acquisition of the reference etching characteristics, as shown in FIG. 8, the etching curve La which is largely dispersed from the surrounding etching curve is included as one of the etching curves of the reference target position group for one object position P. In this case, the reference etching curve of the object position P is affected by the etching curve La, and although it does not affect the degree of the determination value of the etching curve La, However, the determination value of the etching characteristic of the object position P also becomes large. Therefore, when it is assumed that a plurality of kinds of etching characteristics whose determination value is larger than the threshold value are once excluded from the processing target, the etching characteristics for the object position P are also included together with the etching characteristics including the etching curve La. Handling object exclusions. In this case, the operator erroneously excludes the etching characteristics that are not considered to be abnormal as the abnormal etching characteristics.

Further, assuming that an abnormal etching characteristic is detected, in step S14, the abnormal etching is replaced by an alternative etching characteristic obtained from an etching characteristic of a target position group located around the target position P of the abnormal etching characteristic. Processing of another comparative example of characteristics. In the processing of the other comparative example, when the etching characteristic of the target position group includes a specific etching characteristic (for example, an etching characteristic that is greater than a maximum determination value but is greater than a threshold value), the above-described use is performed. The alternative etching characteristics obtained by the etching characteristics of the target position group are affected by the specific etching characteristics, and may be slightly skewed.

On the other hand, in the abnormal characteristic detecting unit 213, each time an abnormal etching characteristic is detected, the abnormal etching characteristic is excluded, and the detecting process is performed again to detect another abnormal etching characteristic. As a result, it is possible to prevent or suppress the erroneous detection of the abnormal etching characteristic of one of the etching curves including the etching curve which is largely dispersed from the etching curve as the processing of the above-mentioned comparative example as the reference target position group. Further, after all the abnormal etching characteristics are discharged, the target etching position of the abnormal etching characteristic is obtained by using the etching characteristics (etching characteristics not excluded) of the target position group located around the target position P, and the abnormal etching property is obtained, and the abnormality is obtained. The etch characteristics are replaced by the alternative etch characteristics. Thereby, it is not affected by other abnormal etching characteristics as in the other comparative example described above, and an alternative etching characteristic of a preferable shape can be obtained for the target position P of the abnormal etching property. As a result, corrections with higher precision than design data can be achieved. Further, in the data correction device 21, the processing of the above comparative example or the processing of the other comparative examples described above may be employed depending on the accuracy required for the correction of the design data.

In the data correction device 21, a plurality of object positions P are divided into a specific number of determination characteristic groups. Then, the segmentation data of the design data is based on the representative corresponding to the segmentation data. One of the closest object positions P of the divided regions determines the etching characteristics of the characteristic group and is corrected. Thereby, it is possible to efficiently perform high-accuracy etching correction.

Here, in the case where a plurality of kinds of etching characteristics for a plurality of object positions P include abnormal etching characteristics, when the characteristic group is determined by the process of step S16 of FIG. 4, each abnormal etching characteristic constitutes one. The possibility of determining the characteristic group becomes high, so that the determination characteristic group of the specific number cannot be appropriately obtained. As a result, the accuracy of the correction of the division pattern corrected by the abnormal etching characteristics is greatly reduced, and the accuracy of correction in other divided data is also lowered.

On the other hand, in the data correction device 21, by changing the abnormal etching characteristics to the alternative etching characteristics, it is possible to appropriately obtain the determination characteristic set of the specific number. As a result, all the divided data can be corrected with high accuracy and efficiency.

Depending on the processing efficiency required by the data correcting means 21, step S16 of FIG. 4 may be omitted, and the divided data corresponding to each divided area may be corrected based on the etching characteristic of the closest target position P of the divided area.

Moreover, the etching characteristics can be individually obtained for each divided region. In this case, in step S16, the same correction processing as that of the above-described reference etching characteristic is performed without performing the characteristic group acquisition processing. That is, based on the positional relationship between each of the divided regions and the plurality of target positions P around the divided regions, the plurality of etching characteristics of the plurality of target positions P are weighted, and the plurality of etching characteristics are determined based on the weighting Etching characteristics of the divided regions. Then, based on the etching characteristics, the segmentation data corresponding to the segmentation region is corrected.

As described above, in the data correcting device 21, it is preferable that the etching characteristic of the object position P (the closest target position P) closest to the divided region corresponding to each divided material is set to be the closest to the etching characteristic, and at least based on the closest The segmentation data is corrected by the etching characteristics (the same applies to the inspection device 1a to be described later).

Next, an inspection apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Figure 11 shows A block diagram showing the function of the inspection apparatus 1a. The inspection device 1a is a device that inspects a pattern formed on the substrate 9 by etching after drawing a design pattern. In the inspection apparatus 1a, the pattern on the substrate 9 is compared with the design data of the etching correction described later. The inspection device 1a is configured as a general computer system similarly to the data processing device 2 shown in Fig. 2 .

The inspection device 1a includes a material correction device 21a, an actual image storage unit 25, and a defect detection unit 26. Similarly to the data correction device 21 shown in FIG. 3, the data correction device 21a includes a design data storage unit 211, an etching characteristic storage unit 212, an abnormality characteristic detecting unit 213, a characteristic replacing unit 214, a characteristic group obtaining unit 215, and a data correcting unit. 217. The actual image storage unit 25 stores the image data of the pattern formed on the substrate 9, that is, the inspection image data. The defect detecting unit 26 detects a defect of the pattern formed on the substrate 9.

Next, the inspection flow of the inspection apparatus 1a will be described with reference to Fig. 12 . In the inspection of the inspection apparatus 1a, the same processing as steps S11 to S18 of Fig. 4 is performed. Specifically, the etching characteristics of a plurality of target positions are acquired based on the measurement pattern formed on the test substrate 9a, and are prepared in the etching characteristic storage unit 212 (step S11). Next, determination values of all the etching characteristics included in the processing target of the detection processing are obtained (step S12). When the maximum determination value is larger than the threshold value (step S13), the etching characteristic (abnormal etching characteristic) of the maximum determination value is excluded from the processing target, and the determination value of all the etching characteristics included in the processing target is obtained again (step S14). , S12). The processing of steps S14 and S12 described above is repeated until the maximum determination value becomes equal to or smaller than the threshold (step S13). When the maximum determination value is equal to or less than the threshold value, the alternative etching characteristic is obtained for the target position of each abnormal etching characteristic, and the abnormal etching characteristic is replaced with the alternative etching characteristic (step S15).

The characteristic group acquisition unit 215 acquires a plurality of characteristic groups (step S16). That is, until the specific termination condition is satisfied, the group etching processing of each characteristic group is repeated, and the grouping processing based on the similarity evaluation value between the etching characteristics of the respective target positions and the group etching characteristics of the respective characteristic groups is performed. Decide on the decision attribute group. Further, it is determined that the representative etching characteristics of the characteristic group are determined.

Next, the design data of the design pattern 83 is stored in the design data storage unit 211 to be prepared (step S17). The data correcting unit 217 extracts a plurality of divided pieces of the plurality of block patterns 84 (see FIG. 10) from the design data of the design pattern 83. In other words, the design data of the design pattern 83 is divided into a plurality of pieces of divided data corresponding to a plurality of divided areas, respectively. Then, based on one of the closest object positions representing the divided regions corresponding to the divided data, the etching characteristics of the characteristic group are determined, and the divided data is corrected (ie, etched and corrected), and the corrected segmentation of each block pattern 84 is obtained. Information (step S18).

Here, the content of the etching correction of the inspection apparatus 1a is different from the etching correction of the drawing apparatus 1. Specifically, in consideration of the position of each of the block patterns 84 of the substrate 9, over etching is performed in accordance with the etching amount indicated by the etching characteristics at the time of actual etching. In other words, the line width of the graphic element for narrowing each divided material or the correction of the reduced graphic element is performed so that the graphic element included in each of the block patterns 84 becomes the line width or size after the actual etching. In other words, the correction of the divided data is performed in contrast to the correction of the divided material in the above-described step S18 in the drawing device 1.

In the data correcting unit 217, the corrected data of the design data of the corrected design pattern 83 is generated by unifying a plurality of corrected divided data corresponding to the plurality of block patterns 84. The corrected data is transmitted from the material correction device 21 to the defect detecting unit 26.

Next, the image data of the etching pattern on the substrate 9 is obtained, and the image data is stored as the inspection image data in the actual image storage unit 25 (step S21). Here, the etching pattern on the substrate 9 is developed by developing a pattern of a resist film which is drawn on the substrate 9 based on the design data of the design pattern 83 before the correction, and the resist is used. The pattern is etched to form a pattern on the substrate 9. Step S21 may be performed in parallel with steps S11 to S18, or may be performed before steps S11 to S18. The inspection image data may be acquired by a device other than the inspection device 1a or may be acquired by the inspection device 1a. When the inspection image data is acquired in the inspection apparatus 1a, the inspection apparatus 1a is provided with an imaging unit that acquires inspection image data. In addition, in the above step S11, When the image of the measurement pattern 96 is acquired in the inspection apparatus 1a, the acquisition of the inspection image data is also preferably performed in the inspection apparatus 1a.

The inspection image data is transmitted from the actual image storage unit 25 to the defect detecting unit 26. The defect detecting unit 26 detects the formed image data and the corrected data transmitted from the data correcting device 21a (that is, the corrected design data is etched by the data correcting device 21a), thereby detecting the formation on the substrate. A defect in the etching pattern on 9 (step S22). As described above, since the corrected image is corrected such that the pattern element of each block pattern 84 becomes the actual line width or size after etching, the defect detecting unit 26 checks the image data and the image. The difference in the correction data is detected as an etch pattern defect on the substrate 9.

As described above, in the data correction device 21a, the abnormal etching characteristic is detected by the detection processing by the abnormality detecting unit 213. Then, new etching characteristics (instead of etching characteristics) are obtained using the etching characteristics of the target position group around the target position of the abnormal etching characteristics, and the abnormal etching characteristics are used instead of the etching characteristics of the target position. Thereby, the design data can be corrected more reliably and accurately. Further, in the inspection apparatus 1a, if the false detection (detection of a false defect due to over-etching) detected when comparing the inspection image data with the design data without the etching correction is suppressed, the inspection can be performed with high precision Inspection of the etching pattern on the substrate 9.

Various changes can be made in the drawing device 1 and the inspection device 1a described above.

The reference etching characteristic used for the calculation of the determination value in the detection process can also be obtained by a method other than the interpolation operation using the etching characteristics of the reference target position group. For example, an etching curve indicating a representative value such as an average value or a central value of the etching amount of each gap width may be obtained in a plurality of etching curves of the same kind included in the etching characteristics of the reference target group, as an etching curve with reference etching characteristics. . In other words, the reference etching characteristics may be obtained by using the etching characteristics of the target position group located around each target position.

In the above detection processing, the determination value is obtained based on the dispersion between the etching curve obtained by the measurement and the reference etching curve. For example, the distance between the two etching curves of the respective gap widths may be α. The determination value based on the sum of the α (area) or the sum of α ² in the range of the specific gap width is obtained. As described above, by determining the determination value based on the distance between the etching characteristics obtained by the measurement and the reference etching characteristic, the abnormal etching characteristics can be accurately detected.

Further, other determination values can be obtained based on the shape of the etching curve. For example, in the etching curve, the variable indicating the gap width may be G, the variable indicating the etching amount may be E, and all the variations T of the etching curve may be obtained by Equation 1.

The total variation of the rise and fall of the T-based etching curve is changed, and the abnormality detecting unit 213 compares all the variations T of the etching curve of each target position and the plurality of etching curves of the reference object position group around the target position. T. For example, the determination value of the etching characteristic of the target position is obtained by using the difference (absolute value) between the total variation T of each target position and the average value of all the variations T of the reference target position group. Then, when the maximum determination value is greater than the threshold value among the determination values of all the object positions, the etching characteristic that becomes the maximum determination value is excluded from the processing target of the detection processing as the abnormal etching characteristic.

Further, a value (for example, a weighted sum) based on a value obtained by the measurement between the etching characteristic and the reference etching characteristic and a value based on all the variations T of the two etching characteristics may be treated as a determination value. Further, a determination value based on the distance between the curve obtained by differentiating the measured etching curve and the curve obtained by differentiating the reference etching curve may be obtained. As described above, various types of determination values can be utilized as the determination values used for the detection processing.

The processing order of FIGS. 4 and 12 can also be changed as appropriate. For example, step S17 and steps S11 to S16 may be performed in parallel, or step S17 may be performed before steps S11 to S16.

Configuration and number of a plurality of block patterns 84 (multiple blocks on the substrate 9) of the design pattern 83 The amount is not limited to those shown in Fig. 10, and can be appropriately changed. The arrangement and number of the plurality of characteristic acquisition patterns 95 on the test substrate 9a are not limited to those shown in FIG. 5, and can be appropriately changed. The feature acquisition patterns 95 do not have to be arranged at a certain pitch. For example, the characteristic acquisition pattern 95 is disposed sparsely on the substrate 9 in a region where the yield of the block is high, and the characteristic acquisition pattern 95 is densely arranged in a region where the yield of the block is low.

The design pattern 83 may include one block pattern 84 and another block pattern 84, or the design pattern 83 may be one block pattern 84. In the correction of the design data of the data correction unit 217, the divided data corrected using an etching characteristic may correspond to an area different in size from the block pattern 84.

The substrate 9 may be a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate or the like in addition to the substrate for manufacturing the printed substrate. The drawing device 1 can also be used for drawing a pattern on various objects other than the substrate 9. The inspection device 1a can also be used to inspect an inspection of a pattern formed on various objects other than the substrate 9 by etching. The data correction devices 21 and 21a can also be used as devices independent of the drawing device 1 and the inspection device 1a. Further, the data correction device can also be used for correction of design data by etching a pattern formed on various objects other than the substrate 9.

The configurations of the above-described embodiments and the respective modifications can be appropriately combined as long as they do not contradict each other.

The description of the invention has been described in detail, but the description of the invention is intended to be illustrative only. Therefore, various changes or aspects may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

2‧‧‧ data processing device

21‧‧‧Data correction device

22‧‧‧Data Conversion Department

31‧‧‧Drawing controller

211‧‧‧Design Data Memory Department

212‧‧‧ Etching Characteristics Memory

213‧‧‧Abnormal characteristic detection department

214‧‧‧Characteristic Replacement Department

215‧‧‧ Characteristic Group Acquisition Department

217‧‧‧ Data Correction Department

Claims (13)

A data correction device for correcting design information of a pattern formed on an object by etching, and comprising: a design data storage portion that memorizes design data of a pattern formed on the object by etching; etching The characteristic memory unit stores a plurality of etching characteristics for a plurality of object positions on the object; the abnormal characteristic detecting unit has an etching characteristic for each object position and a target position group located around each of the object positions The etching characteristics are compared, and the specific etching characteristics are detected as abnormal etching characteristics. The characteristic replacing unit obtains new etching characteristics using the etching characteristics of the target position group located around the target position of the abnormal etching characteristics. And replacing the abnormal etching characteristics with the new etching characteristics; and the data correcting unit correcting the design data based on a plurality of etching characteristics of the plurality of target positions. The data correction device according to claim 1, wherein in the detecting process, an etching characteristic obtained by using a target position group located around each of the target positions is obtained, and an etching characteristic and an etching characteristic of each of the target positions are obtained. The value of the distance between the two. The data correction device of claim 2, wherein the one etching characteristic is obtained for each of the object positions by an interpolation operation using an etching characteristic of the target position group. The data correction device of claim 1, wherein the abnormal characteristic detecting unit excludes the abnormal etching characteristic when detecting an abnormal etching characteristic, and performs the detecting process again to detect another Abnormal etch characteristics. A drawing device for drawing a pattern on an object, comprising: the data correcting device according to any one of claims 1 to 4; a light source; a light modulation portion, which is corrected based on the data correcting device The material is modulated by the design data, and the scanning mechanism scans the object for the light modulated by the light modulation unit. An inspection apparatus for inspecting a pattern formed on an object by etching, and comprising: the data correction device according to any one of claims 1 to 4; the actual image memory portion whose memory is etched The image data of the pattern formed on the object is the inspection image data; and the defect detecting unit detects and forms the object by comparing the design data corrected by the data correction device with the inspection image data. The above defects in the pattern. A data correction method for correcting design information of a pattern formed on an object by etching, and comprising: a) a step of preparing design data of a pattern formed on the object by etching; b) preparing a step of etching a plurality of etching characteristics of a plurality of object positions on the object; c) detecting processing by comparing etching characteristics of respective object positions with etching characteristics of a target position group located around each of the object positions And detecting a specific etching characteristic as a step of abnormal etching characteristics; d) obtaining a new etching characteristic using an etching characteristic of a target position group located around the target position of the abnormal etching characteristic, and replacing the abnormal etching characteristic with The steps of the new etching characteristics; and e) the step of modifying the design data based on a plurality of etching characteristics for the plurality of object positions. The data correction method of claim 7, wherein in the detecting processing, between one etching characteristic obtained by using an etching characteristic of a target position group located around each of the target positions, and an etching characteristic between the respective object positions The judgment value of the distance. The data correction method of claim 8, wherein the one etching characteristic is obtained for each of the object positions by an interpolation operation using an etching characteristic of the target position group. The data correction method of claim 7, wherein in the step c), each time an abnormal etching characteristic is detected, the abnormal etching characteristic is excluded, and the detecting process is performed again to detect another abnormal etching characteristic. A drawing method for drawing a pattern on an object, and comprising: a step of correcting design data by a data correction method according to any one of claims 7 to 10; and scanning the object based on the corrected The steps of the light after the above design data. An inspection method for inspecting a pattern formed on an object by etching, and comprising: a step of correcting design data by a data correction method according to any one of claims 7 to 10; The corrected design data is compared with the image data of the pattern formed on the object by etching, that is, the inspection image data, and the defect of the pattern formed on the object is detected. A recording medium recording a design material for correcting a pattern formed on an object by etching, and executing the program by a computer causes the computer to perform the following steps: a) preparing to be etched a step of designing a pattern of the pattern formed on the object; b) preparing a plurality of etching characteristics for a plurality of object positions on the object; c) etching characteristics of each object position, and The etching characteristic of the target position group around each object position is compared, and the specific etching characteristic is detected as the abnormal etching characteristic step; d) the etching characteristic of the object position group around the object position of the abnormal etching characteristic is used. a step of determining a new etching characteristic and replacing the abnormal etching characteristic with the new etching characteristic; and e) modifying the design data based on a plurality of etching characteristics for the plurality of object positions.