TWI620032B - Data correcting apparatus, drawing apparatus, inspection apparatus, data correcting method, drawing method, inspection method and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

The etching characteristic storage unit 212 of the data correction unit 21 stores the etching characteristics of each of the plurality of target positions on the target as the target etching characteristics. The characteristic group acquisition unit 213 includes object positions corresponding to mutually similar object etching characteristics into one characteristic group, and divides the plurality of object positions into a specific number of characteristic groups less than the plurality of object positions. The division data correction unit 217 divides the design data of the pattern formed on the object by etching into a plurality of division data corresponding to the plurality of division regions set on the object, and based on the division corresponding to the division data corresponding to the division data The segmentation data is corrected by the etching characteristics of a characteristic group to which the closest object position of the region belongs. This makes it possible to efficiently perform high-precision etching correction.

Description

Data correction device, drawing device, inspection device, data correction method, drawing method, inspection method, and recording medium

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

In the past, various processes were performed on a substrate in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor substrate or a printed substrate, or a glass substrate for a plasma display device or a liquid crystal display device (hereinafter referred to as a "substrate"). For example, a wiring pattern is formed on a substrate by etching a substrate having a pattern of resist formed on its surface. In this 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 in which a resist pattern is formed on a substrate by using an electron beam direct drawing device, and a pattern is formed by etching using a plasma etching device. In addition, it is proposed that processing for generating direct drawing data for an electron beam based on design data of a pattern includes processing for correcting a change in the size of the pattern after etching due to a micro loading effect.

In Japanese Patent No. 4274784, it is proposed to use image data and design data of an etched substrate, and to generate information indicating how to obtain the required etched substrate. Correct the resizing rule of the design data.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-134512 discloses a method of specifying a correction value for correcting over-etching for the interval (distance) between each pattern when making a photomask. In addition, when the straight line pattern and the circular arc pattern face each other, it is proposed that a further correction be applied to the facing portion.

In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-12562, there is disclosed a technique for making a contour shape (contour shape of a conductor pattern) based on the design information of the conductor pattern while considering side etching, based on the distance between adjacent contour shapes. Instead, set the correction value.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-250101 relates to a defect inspection of a wiring pattern formed by etching. In this defect inspection, the etching information (etching curve) is measured from a measurement pattern formed on the surface of the substrate, and the etching data is used to perform etching simulation on the design data to generate inspection data. 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 this document, it is proposed to arrange one measurement pattern on each of a plurality of inspection areas set on the upper surface of the printed substrate, and obtain an etching curve for each inspection area. The inspection area includes a plurality of identical single-part patterns, and the plurality of single-part patterns are similarly corrected based on the etching curve for the inspection area.

In recent years, in a device for etching a substrate, in order to improve productivity, a large substrate in which a plurality of identical pieces (patterns) are arranged is etched. Therefore, the etching characteristics are different depending on the position on the substrate, and even if the same portion is etched, the etching result may be different. In this case, it is also considered to obtain the etching characteristics for each part and to correct the data (etching correction) based on the etching characteristics, but the etching correction for all parts takes a long time.

The invention is a data correction device suitable for correcting design data of a pattern formed on an object by etching, and the purpose thereof is to perform highly accurate etching repair with high efficiency. positive.

The data correction device of the present invention includes: a design data memory unit that stores design data of a pattern formed on an object by etching; an etching characteristic memory unit that will address each of the plurality of object positions on the object The etching characteristics are used as the target etching characteristics, and the plurality of target etching characteristics for the plurality of target locations are memorized; the characteristic group acquisition unit includes the target locations corresponding to mutually similar target etching characteristics in one characteristic group In the group, the plurality of object positions are divided into a specific number of characteristic groups that are less than the plurality of object positions; and a segmentation data correction section that divides the design data into and sets the plurality of object positions on the object. The plurality of pieces of divided data corresponding to the divided areas are corrected based on the etching characteristics representing a characteristic group to which the closest object position of the divided areas corresponding to the above divided data belongs.

According to the present invention, highly accurate etching correction can be performed efficiently.

In a preferred form of the present invention, the above-mentioned characteristic group acquisition section includes: a group characteristic acquisition section that acquires an etching characteristic associated with each characteristic group as a group etching characteristic; and a grouping processing section that Based on a value indicating the similarity between the etching characteristics of each object and the group etching characteristics of each of the characteristic groups, one of the characteristic groups corresponding to the etching characteristics of each object is included in any of the specific number of characteristic groups. Group processing.

In this case, it is more preferable that the characteristic group acquisition section further includes a repetition control section that acquires the group etching characteristics using the group characteristic acquisition section and uses the grouping processing. The above-mentioned grouping processing is repeated until a specific condition is satisfied, and the group characteristic obtaining section is based on the object etching characteristics of the object position included in each of the above-mentioned characteristic groups by the previous grouping processing, The group etching characteristics of the characteristic groups are obtained.

In another preferred form of the present invention, the division patterns represented by the plurality of division data of the design data are the same.

In one aspect of the present invention, the data correction device further includes an object etching characteristic acquisition unit, which acquires the reference etching characteristic in advance for each of the plurality of reference positions on the object, and aims at the above Each of the plurality of target positions weights the plurality of reference etching characteristics of the plurality of reference positions based on a positional relationship between each object position and the plurality of reference positions, and based on the weighted plurality of reference etching characteristics. The target etching characteristics of the target positions are obtained.

In another aspect of the present invention, the data correction device further includes a group number determining unit, and the group number determining unit groups the above-mentioned characteristic group obtaining unit for each of a plurality of temporary group numbers, and obtains The sum of all the characteristic groups representing the value representing the difference between the etching characteristics of each characteristic group and the object etching characteristics of all object positions belonging to each of the above characteristic groups is used as an evaluation value, and the above evaluation value is a specific threshold value The following minimum number of temporary groups is determined as the above specific number.

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

The present invention is also suitable for an inspection device for inspecting a pattern formed on an object by etching. The inspection device of the present invention includes: the above-mentioned data correction device; an actual image memory section that stores image data of a pattern formed on an object by etching, that is, inspection image data; and a defect detection section that corrects The design data corrected by the data correction device is compared with the inspection image data, and defects in the pattern formed on the object are detected.

The present invention is also suitable for a data correction method for correcting design data of a pattern formed on an object by etching, a drawing method of drawing a pattern on an object, and an inspection method of inspecting a pattern formed on an object by etching And a recording medium that records a program that corrects design data of a pattern formed on an object by etching.

The above and other objects, features, forms, and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1‧‧‧ depicting device

1a‧‧‧Inspection device

2‧‧‧ Data Processing Device

3‧‧‧ exposure device

8‧‧‧ recording media

9‧‧‧ substrate

9a‧‧‧Test substrate

21, 21a‧‧‧Data Correction Department

22‧‧‧Data Conversion Department

25‧‧‧Actual image memory section

26‧‧‧Defect detection department

31‧‧‧Drawing controller

32‧‧‧ carrier

33‧‧‧light emitting section

35‧‧‧scanning agency

80‧‧‧program

83‧‧‧Design

84‧‧‧partial pattern

93‧‧‧test pattern

95‧‧‧Characteristic acquisition pattern

201‧‧‧CPU

202‧‧‧ROM

203‧‧‧RAM

204‧‧‧Fixed Disk

205‧‧‧Display

206a‧‧‧Keyboard

206b‧‧‧mouse

207‧‧‧Read / Write Device

208‧‧‧Ministry of Communications

211‧‧‧Design Data Memory Department

212‧‧‧Etching characteristics memory

213‧‧‧Feature Group Acquisition Department

214‧‧‧Group Characteristic Acquisition Department

215‧‧‧Group processing department

216‧‧‧ Duplicate Control Department

217‧‧‧Division data correction department

218‧‧‧ Object Etching Characteristics Acquisition Department

219‧‧‧Group number determination department

331‧‧‧light source

332‧‧‧Light Modulation Department

951‧‧‧The first graphic element group

952‧‧‧The first graphic element

953‧‧‧The second graphic element group

954‧‧‧The second graphic element

A1‧‧‧Rectangle

d‧‧‧poor

E1, E2‧‧‧etching curve

Et‧‧‧etching amount

P, P1‧‧‧ Object position

P0‧‧‧reference position

S11 ~ S22‧‧‧step

G‧‧‧Gap width

x, y‧‧‧ directions

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a drawing device according to a first embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a data processing device.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the functions of the data processing device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a drawing process using a drawing device.

FIG. 5 is a top view of a test substrate.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of a part of the characteristic acquisition pattern.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a part of a measurement pattern.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an etching curve.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the positions of objects included in each characteristic group.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a design pattern.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a reference position and an object position on a test substrate.

Fig. 12 is a block diagram showing the functions of the inspection apparatus according to the second embodiment.

Fig. 13 is a diagram showing a part of a flow of inspection using an inspection device.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a drawing device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The drawing device 1 directly irradiates a resist film, which is a photosensitive material provided on a surface of a printed substrate, a semiconductor substrate, a liquid crystal substrate, or the like (hereinafter referred to as "substrate 9"), with light, and directly draws the resist film Direct drawing device for images such as circuit patterns. The substrate 9 on which a pattern is drawn by the drawing device 1 is subjected to development and etching in a substrate processing device (not shown). Thereby, a pattern is formed on the substrate 9. The etching of the substrate 9 is, for example, wet etching performed by applying an etchant to the substrate 9. In addition, as the etching of the substrate 9, for example, dry etching using a plasma or the like may be performed.

The drawing device 1 includes a data processing device 2 and an exposure device 3. Data processing device 2 Correct the design data of the pattern drawn on the substrate 9 to generate drawing data. The exposure device 3 draws (that is, exposes) the substrate 9 based on the drawing data transmitted from the data processing device 2. The data processing device 2 and the exposure device 3 may be physically separated as long as they can transmit and receive data between the two devices, and of course, they may be provided integrally.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the data processing device 2. The data processing device 2 becomes a structure of a general computer system, which includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201 for performing various arithmetic processing, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202 that stores basic programs, and various types of memories Information RAM (Random Access Memory) 203. The data processing device 2 further includes: a fixed disk 204 for 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 recording medium 8 that can be read by a computer such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk, and a magneto-optical disk; and a communication unit 208 that transmits and receives signals to and from other components such as the drawing device 1.

In the data processing device 2, the program 80 is read from the recording medium 8 via the read / write device 207 in advance and stored in the fixed disk 204. The CPU 201 implements the following functions by performing arithmetic processing while using the RAM 203 or the fixed disk 204 in accordance with the program 80 (that is, by executing the program by a computer).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the functions of the data processing apparatus 2. FIG. 3 also shows a part of the configuration of the exposure device 3 connected to the data processing device 2 (the drawing controller 31). The data processing device 2 includes a data correction section 21 and a data conversion section 22. The data correction unit 21 corrects design data of a pattern formed on the substrate 9 by etching. The data correction section 21 includes a design data storage section 211, an etching characteristic storage section 212, a characteristic group acquisition section 213, and a segmented data correction section 217. The characteristic group acquisition section 213 includes a group characteristic acquisition section 214, a grouping processing section 215, and a repetition control section 216. The design conversion data (hereinafter referred to as `` corrected material"). The corrected data is usually vector data such as polygons. The data conversion section 22 converts the corrected data as vector data into drawing data as roster data. In addition, the functions of the target etching characteristic acquisition unit 218 and the group number determination unit 219 indicated by the dashed rectangles in FIG. 3 are used in the following processing examples. The function of the data processing device 2 may be realized by a dedicated circuit, or a dedicated circuit may be partially used.

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

The scanning mechanism 35 moves the stage 32 in the horizontal direction. Specifically, the stage 32 is moved in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction by the scanning mechanism 35. Thereby, the light modulated by the light modulation section 332 is scanned on the substrate 9 in the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction. The exposure device 3 may be provided with a rotation mechanism that rotates the stage 32 horizontally. In addition, an elevating mechanism that moves the light emitting section 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 section 33 on the substrate 9. For example, the light emitting unit 33 may be moved above the stage 32 in the main scanning direction and the sub scanning direction by the scanning mechanism 35.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, a description will be given of a flow of drawing by the drawing device 1. First, for a test substrate having a resist film formed on one main surface (the same shape and size as the substrate 9 drawn in step S20 described below, which is hereinafter referred to as a "test substrate"), The exposure device 3 draws a specific test pattern.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a test substrate 9a on which a test pattern 93 is drawn by the exposure device 3. FIG. view. Actually, the test pattern 93 on the test substrate 9a can be visually recognized as a resist pattern by performing a development process. Here, the position, shape, and size of each graphic element of the test pattern 93 in FIG. 5 are set to exactly match the pattern indicated by the design data for the test pattern (however, the correction by the data correction unit 21 is not performed). That is, the test pattern 93 in FIG. 5 is also the pattern itself indicated by the design data for the test pattern. The test substrate 9a of FIG. 5 is rectangular. In FIG. 5, directions along two mutually orthogonal sides of the test substrate 9a are shown as an x direction and a y direction.

The test pattern 93 includes a plurality of characteristic acquisition patterns 95. In FIG. 5, the characteristic acquisition pattern 95 is represented by a rectangle. Each of the plurality of characteristic acquisition patterns 95 undergoes processing such as development, etching, and resist peeling, and finally becomes a predetermined drawing pattern for a measurement pattern for measuring the etching characteristics. In the example of FIG. 5, the plurality of characteristic acquisition patterns 95 are arranged at a constant pitch in the x-direction and the y-direction. When a position P (for example, the center of the pattern) P at which each characteristic acquisition pattern 95 is arranged is referred to as a “target position”, a plurality of target positions P are set on the test substrate 9 a. The number of the object positions P on the test substrate 9a is, for example, four or more, and preferably nine or more. Each characteristic acquisition pattern 95 includes a plurality of graphic elements. The rectangle of the characteristic acquisition pattern 95 shown in FIG. 5 is a rectangle having a substantially smallest size including all of the plurality of graphic elements.

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

A resist pattern representing a test pattern 93 is formed on the test substrate 9a by a development process on the test substrate 9a. Then, the test substrate 9a is masked with the resist pattern. A plurality of measurement patterns indicating a plurality of characteristic acquisition patterns 95 are formed on the main surface of the test substrate 9a by performing etching and further performing a process such as resist peeling.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a part of the measurement pattern 96 corresponding to the characteristic acquisition pattern 95. The measurement pattern 96 includes a plurality of second graphic element groups 953 each representing a plurality of first graphic element groups 951. In FIG. 7, one second graphic element group 953 is enlarged and shown. Each second graphic element group 953 includes two substantially linear second graphic elements 954 corresponding to the two first graphic elements 952. The second pattern element 954 is formed by using the portion of the first pattern element 952 in the resist pattern and etching. In FIG. 7, a two-dot chain line is used to show the outline of the first graphic element 952.

Here, the edge (part of the outline) of each second graphic element 954 that forms a gap between two second graphic elements 954 in each second graphic element group 953 and the first graphic element corresponding to the side The distance between the edges of 952 (the distance in the direction perpendicular to the portion of the contour line forming the gap) is called the etching amount Et. The amount of etching Et represents the amount of movement (the amount of thinning on one side of the outline) of the edge of the second graphic element 954 relative to the edge of each of the first graphic elements 952 in the gap between the two second graphic elements 954. The etching amount Et varies depending on the gap width G between the two first pattern elements 952 corresponding to the two second pattern elements 954. The relationship between the gap width G and the etching amount Et is obtained by capturing the test substrate 9a to obtain an image of the measurement pattern 96, and comparing the image with the design data of the characteristic acquisition pattern 95.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an etching curve showing the relationship between the gap width G and the etching amount Et. In FIG. 8, two etching curves are indicated by symbols E1 and E2. In the etching curve, as the gap width G becomes smaller, the etching amount Et also becomes smaller. In a range where the gap width G is somewhat large, the etching amount Et is approximately proportional to the gap width G, but when the gap width G becomes smaller, the etching amount Et decreases sharply with respect to the decrease in the gap width G. In other words, as the gap width G becomes smaller, the slope of the etching curve becomes larger.

In the plurality of characteristic acquisition patterns 95, since the positions (i.e., the object positions P) on the test substrate 9a are different, as shown in the two etching curves E1 and E2 in FIG. 8, there is an etching curve. When the shapes are different from each other. In this processing example, a plurality of etching curves are respectively obtained from the plurality of characteristic acquisition patterns 95. In other words, a plurality of etching curves are obtained for the plurality of object positions P. In addition, in FIG. 8, the etched amount Et on the gap width G of each first pattern element group 951 is represented by four corner points of black or white. The size or number of the gap widths G in which the etching amount Et is measured in the plurality of characteristic acquisition patterns 95 may be different.

The characteristic acquisition pattern 95 may include graphic elements of various shapes other than a rectangle, and various combinations of graphic element groups. For example, the characteristic acquisition pattern 95 may include a plurality of circular graphic elements having different diameters, and an etching curve representing the relationship between the diameter of the circular graphic elements and the etching amount may be acquired. For this kind of 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 with respect to each position on the test substrate 9a and the substrate 9 are collectively referred to as "etching characteristics", and the etching characteristics corresponding to the target position P are referred to as "target etching characteristics" ". The etching characteristics typically represent the width of the gap (design gap) between adjacent graphic elements in the pattern indicated by the design data, and the gap (actual gap) between the graphic elements in the pattern formed by etching. The relationship between width.

In the drawing device 1, one or a plurality of etching curves with respect to each object position P are stored in the etching characteristic storage unit 212. That is, the plurality of target etching characteristics with respect to the plurality of target positions P are stored in the etching characteristic storage unit 212 to prepare for the following processing (step S11). In addition, the plurality of object etching characteristics may be obtained from a device other than the drawing device 1, or may be obtained from the drawing device 1. When the drawing device 1 acquires the target etching characteristics, the drawing device 1 is provided with an imaging unit that acquires an image of the measurement pattern 96 (see FIG. 7), and an image based on the measurement pattern 96 and a characteristic acquisition pattern 95 (see Fig. 6) An etching characteristic calculation unit (the same as in the inspection device 1a of the second embodiment) for obtaining the target etching characteristics of each target position by design data.

In the group characteristic acquisition section 214 of the characteristic group acquisition section 213, the number of characteristic groups (hereinafter referred to as "set group number") is determined (step S12). Here, the feature group is only Contains a set of object positions P corresponding to mutually similar object etching characteristics. The number of groups to be set is determined based on, for example, input by an operator via an input unit (keyboard 206a, mouse 206b, etc.). The number of set groups can also be determined in advance.

Then, the target position P of the set group number is randomly specified and assigned to the characteristic group of the set group number, respectively. The target etching characteristic assigned to the target position P of each characteristic group is treated as an etching characteristic (hereinafter referred to as a "group etching characteristic") associated with the characteristic group (step S13). In the grouping processing unit 215, a value indicating the similarity between the target etching characteristic of each target position P and the group etching characteristic of each characteristic group is obtained (here, the higher the similarity between the two, the larger the value , Hereinafter referred to as "similarity evaluation value").

For example, when the etching curve of the target etching characteristic at a certain object position P and the etching curve of the group etching characteristic of a certain characteristic group are the etching curves E1 and E2 in FIG. 8, the plurality of gap widths are specified in advance. For each of them, the difference (absolute value) d between the etching amounts Et of the two etching curves E1 and E2 was obtained. Then, the sum of the differences d in the plurality of gap widths is determined as the distance between the two etching curves E1 and E2. When the target etching characteristic includes only one type of etching curve, the distance becomes the above-mentioned similarity evaluation value. When the target etching characteristic includes a plurality of types of etching curves, the sum of the distances of the plurality of types of etching curves becomes the above-mentioned similarity evaluation value.

If a similarity evaluation value is obtained for each target position P and each of the characteristic groups for which the number of groups is set, the target position P is assigned to the characteristic group having the smallest similarity evaluation value. In this way, in the grouping processing unit 215, based on the similarity evaluation value of each object etching characteristic and the group etching characteristic of each characteristic group, the object position P corresponding to the object etching characteristic is included in the setting group. Grouping processing of any one of the characteristic groups of the number (step S14). Through the grouping process, at least one object position P is included in each characteristic group. In addition, in the calculation of the similarity evaluation value, the number (the number of samples) and the value of the plurality of gap widths for the difference d can be determined arbitrarily, and it does not necessarily have to be the same as that of the test pattern 93. The gap width G between the first graphic elements 952 is the same. The etching amount of the gap width different from the gap width G between the first pattern elements 952 is obtained by various interpolation operations.

When the repeat control unit 216 confirms that the following end conditions are not satisfied (step S15), the group characteristic acquisition unit 214 acquires the group etching characteristics of each characteristic group again (step S13). At this time, the group etching characteristics of the characteristic group are obtained from the object etching characteristics of the object positions included in each characteristic group by the previous grouping process. Specifically, regarding the various types of the etching curve, an etching curve representing a representative value such as the average value or the central value of the etching amount in each gap width is obtained as a group from the etching curves of the target positions included in each characteristic group. Etching curve of group etching characteristics. The representative value of the etching amount in each gap width may be a value near the center of the distribution of the etching amount.

The group etching characteristics can also be obtained by other methods. For example, the sum of the above-mentioned distances of the etch curves of each object position included in each characteristic group and the etch curves of other object positions included in the characteristic group can also be obtained, and the sum that becomes the smallest etch can be obtained The curve is used as the etching curve of the group etching characteristic. In this way, the etching curve of the group etching characteristics of each characteristic group can also be the etching curve of an object position P, and the etching curve of one object position P represents the etching of a plurality of object positions P included in the characteristic group. Near the center of the distribution of the curve. Actually, since the etching curve of each object position P contains interference (error value), from the viewpoint of smoothing the etching curve of the group etching characteristics, it is preferable to obtain an etching curve representing a representative value (as described above) The same applies to the following etching curves representing the etching characteristics).

In the grouping processing unit 215, similarly to the above, the similarity evaluation value of each object etching characteristic and the group etching characteristic of each characteristic group is obtained, and each object position P is included based on the similarity evaluation value. A new grouping process (reallocation of the target position P) in any one of the characteristic groups (step S14). In other words, the object position P included in each characteristic group is updated.

In the repeat control section 216, confirm the objects included in each of the updated characteristic groups Whether the position P is consistent with the object position P included in the characteristic group before the update. Here, the target position P included in the updated characteristic group is different from the target position P included in the characteristic group before the update, and it is confirmed that the end condition is not satisfied (step S15), and the above steps S13 and S14 are repeated. If the object position P included in each characteristic group after the update in step S14 is consistent with the object position P included in the characteristic group immediately before the update, that is, the object position P does not move between the characteristic groups, then It is confirmed that the end condition is satisfied (step S15), and the repetition of steps S13 and S14 is ended. In the following description, the characteristic group when the end condition is satisfied is referred to as a "determining characteristic group".

In this way, in the characteristic group acquisition unit 213, the acquisition of the group etching characteristics in step S13 and the grouping processing in step S14 are repeated until a specific end condition is satisfied. Thus, the object positions corresponding to mutually similar object etching characteristics are included in one determining characteristic group, and the plurality of object positions are divided into determining characteristic groups having a smaller number of setting groups than the plurality of object positions. In FIG. 9, the width of the parallel oblique line marked on the rectangle representing the characteristic acquisition pattern 95 is changed in three cases, and three object positions P included in the determined characteristic group are shown. In addition, the termination condition may be a case where the number of repetitions of the above steps S13 and S14 reaches a predetermined number of times and the like. The grouping of the target positions P in the characteristic group acquisition unit 213 can be performed by a method other than the above-mentioned method (k-average method).

The group etching characteristics of the plurality of characteristic groups obtained in the previous step S13 are respectively determined as the representative etching characteristics of the plurality of determining characteristic groups (step S16). In the following processing, the representative etching characteristics of each decision characteristic group are treated as the etching characteristics of the object position P included in the decision characteristic group. In step S16, as long as the representative etching characteristics of each decision characteristic group substantially represent the target etching characteristics (characteristics representing plural etching characteristics) of the plurality of target positions P included in the decision characteristic group, Obtained by a method different from step S13.

Next, in the drawing device 1, a predetermined pattern to be formed on the substrate 9 by etching The design data of the project is input to the data correction section 21 and stored in the design data storage section 211, thereby preparing (step S17).

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a design pattern 83 shown in design data. In FIG. 10, the outer shape of the predetermined substantially rectangular substrate 9 for drawing the design pattern 83 is indicated by a thick two-dot chain line. The design pattern 83 includes a plurality of partial patterns 84 arranged in a matrix (ie, multiplexed). The plurality of partial patterns 84 are respectively pattern elements constituting the design pattern 83, and the design pattern 83 is a pattern element group which is a set of the plurality of pattern elements. In FIG. 10, a partial pattern 84 is shown as a rectangle.

The rectangular shape of each partial pattern 84 shown in FIG. 10 is a substantially smallest rectangular shape that surrounds all of the plurality of graphic elements included in the partial pattern 84. In the example of FIG. 10, along two directions corresponding to two sides orthogonal to the two sides of the substrate 9 represented by a two-point chain line (in FIG. 10, the directions are shown as the x direction and the y direction as in FIG. 5 and the like) The plurality of partial patterns 84 are arranged two-dimensionally. These partial patterns 84 are mutually identical patterns.

Since the design pattern 83 is a predetermined pattern 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 can be understood that a predetermined position (hereinafter simply referred to as a “position of the partial pattern 84”) on which the respective partial patterns 84 are drawn is set on the substrate 9.

In the segmented data correction section 217, a plurality of segmented data (data blocks) representing a plurality of partial patterns 84 are extracted from the design data of the design pattern 83, respectively. In other words, the design data of the design pattern 83 is divided into a plurality of divided data representing a plurality of partial patterns 84, respectively. In addition, an object position P closest to the position of the partial pattern 84 (for example, the center of the partial pattern 84) indicated by each of the divided data is specified. Then, the segmentation data is corrected based on the etching characteristics of the object position P, that is, the representative etching characteristics of the determination characteristic group to which the object position P belongs, to thereby obtain the corrected segmentation data indicating each partial pattern 84 (step S18). ). In addition, in FIG. 9, a region having each object position P as the closest object position is represented by a rectangle A1 with a two-point chain line centered on the object position P as shown in the figure. It's the same in 10.

In the correction of the divided data, the positions of the respective partial patterns 84 on the substrate 9 are considered, and the etching in excess of the etching amount indicated by the etching characteristics (that is, exceeding the required amount) is performed. That is, referring to the representative etching characteristics of the determined characteristic group, which are approximately equivalent to the etching characteristics of the positions of the partial patterns 84, the pattern elements of the pattern on the substrate 9 after the etching are formed into the required line width or size. In the method, a correction is made to increase the line width of the graphic element of each divided data or to increase the graphic element.

Here, if the area (portion) on the substrate 9 on which each partial pattern 84 is to be drawn is referred to as a divided area, in step S18, the design data of the design pattern 83 is first divided into The plurality of divided regions set on the substrate 9 correspond to a plurality of divided data, respectively. Further, each segmented data is corrected based on the etching characteristics (representative etching characteristics) of a determined characteristic group to which the closest object position P representing the segmented area corresponding to the segmented data belongs. In this way, the segmented data that has been corrected is obtained by performing etch correction on each segmented data.

As described above, in the example shown in FIG. 10, the division patterns, that is, the partial patterns 84 indicated by the plurality of division data of the design data are the same. Therefore, it is possible to directly use the corrected segmentation data obtained by using the representative etching characteristics of each of the determination characteristic groups as the divisions of other divisional regions in which the object position P included in the determination characteristic group is the closest object position. data. As a result, the number of times of performing the etching correction of the divided data is reduced, and the acquisition of the plurality of corrected divided data corresponding to the plurality of divided regions is completed in a short time (etching correction). In FIG. 10, the widths of the parallel oblique lines marked on the rectangles representing the partial patterns 84 are made uniform to represent the partial patterns 84 using the same modified segmentation data.

In the divided data correcting section 217, the corrected data is generated by aggregating the plurality of corrected divided data. The corrected data is sent from the data correction section 21 to the data conversion section 22. In the data conversion section 22, it will be corrected as vector data The completed data is converted into roster data, that is, drawing data (step S19).

The drawing data is sent from the data conversion section 22 to the drawing controller 31 of the exposure device 3. In the exposure device 3, the substrate 9 is drawn based on the drawing data from the data processing device 2 and the light modulation section 332 and the scanning mechanism 35 of the light emitting section 33 are controlled by the drawing controller 31 (step S20). By performing various processes such as development and etching on the substrate 9 that has been drawn, a plurality of independent wiring patterns each representing a partial pattern 84 are formed on the substrate 9.

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

Here, it is assumed that the processing of the comparative example is to correct the segmentation data corresponding to the segmentation area (part) with each object position P as the closest object position based on the object etching characteristics of the object position P. Since the etching characteristics of the plurality of object positions P are usually different from each other, in the processing of the comparative example, it is necessary to obtain the corrected segmentation data in the amount of all the object positions P. Since it takes a certain amount of time to obtain one piece of corrected segmentation data, it is difficult to efficiently perform drawing using the drawing device 1 if the number of pieces of corrected segmentation data of all the object positions P is obtained. In addition, although it is also considered that the number of object positions P on the test substrate 9a is limited to several in advance (reducing the number of measurement points), in this case, the range of each object position P as the closest object position is widened. It is impossible to perform high-precision etching correction.

In contrast, in the characteristic group acquisition section 213 of the data correction section 21, a plurality of target positions P are divided into specific groups by including target positions P corresponding to mutually similar target etching characteristics in one characteristic group. The number determines the characteristic group. That is, for multiple objects The positions P are grouped based on the target etching characteristics (based on the shape of the etching curve). Then, the segmentation data correcting unit 217 corrects each segmentation data of the design data based on the etching characteristics of a decision characteristic group to which the closest object position P representing the segmentation area corresponding to the segmentation data belongs. This makes it possible to perform highly accurate etching correction with high efficiency. In addition, in the drawing device 1 provided with the data correction unit 21, a plurality of partial patterns 84 can be drawn on the substrate 9 in a short time with high accuracy (by increasing the efficiency of the etching correction).

In addition, the characteristic group acquisition section 213 includes: a group characteristic acquisition section 214 that acquires the group etching characteristics of each characteristic group; and a grouping processing section 215 that groups the etching based on each object etching characteristic and each characteristic group. The similarity evaluation values of the characteristics are grouped. Then, the acquisition of the group etching characteristics by the group characteristic acquisition unit 214 and the grouping processing by the grouping processing unit 215 are repeated until a specific condition is satisfied. In addition, in repeating these processes, the group etching characteristics of the characteristic group are obtained from the object etching characteristics of the object position P included in each characteristic group by the previous grouping processing. This makes it possible to appropriately group the plurality of object positions P.

Next, processing by the target etching characteristic acquisition unit 218 of FIG. 3 will be described. The process using the target etching characteristic acquisition unit 218 is the process performed in step S11 in FIG. 4. In the description of this processing example, the target position P in FIG. 5 is referred to as a “reference position”, and the target etching characteristic corresponding to the target position P is referred to as a “reference etching characteristic”.

FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the test substrate 9a, and the position (reference position) of the plurality of characteristic acquisition patterns 95 on the test substrate 9a is marked with the symbol P0. In addition, in FIG. 11, the areas corresponding to the plurality of partial patterns 84 are also represented by a two-dot chain line rectangle. The plurality of reference etching characteristics corresponding to the plurality of reference positions P0 are acquired in the same manner as the above-mentioned processing (processing for acquiring the target etching characteristics).

Next, in the target etching characteristic acquisition unit 218, the position of each partial pattern 84 is set as the target position, and is obtained based on the plurality of reference etching characteristics of the plurality of reference positions P0. The plurality of object etching characteristics of the plurality of object positions (step S11). The target etching characteristics are based on the positional relationship between the target position (the position of each partial pattern 84) and the plurality of reference positions P0, and a plurality of reference etching characteristics corresponding to the plurality of reference positions P0 are weighted. A plurality of reference etching characteristics are obtained. The weighting of the plurality of reference etching characteristics is performed, for example, by multiplying the reference etching characteristic by a weighting factor based on a distance between the reference position P0 and the target position corresponding to each reference etching characteristic.

In detail, by using the bilinear interpolation of the target position and the plurality of reference positions P0, the etching curves of the target etching characteristics are obtained while weighting the etching curves of the plurality of reference etching characteristics. For example, if attention is paid to the object position marked with the symbol P1 in FIG. 11, one of the four reference positions P0 (the four reference positions P0 forming the smallest rectangle) based on the object position P1 and the object position P1 is enclosed. The distance in the x direction between the two reference positions P0 on the (+ y) side is linearly interpolated to the etching curve of the two reference positions P0 on the (+ y) side to obtain the first interpolation etching curve. Specifically, if the distance in the x direction between one of the two reference positions P0 and the target position P1 is set to d1, and the distance in the x direction between the other reference position P0 and the target position P1 is set to d1. If the distance is set to d2, then (d2 / (d1 + d2)) is set as a weighting factor to be multiplied by the etching curve (etching amount) of the one reference position P0. In addition, (d1 / (d1 + d2)) is set as a weighting factor to be multiplied by the etching curve of the other reference position P0. Then, the first interpolation etching curve is obtained by adding the multiplication results of the two etching curves.

Similarly, based on the distance in the x direction between the target position P1 and the two reference positions P0 on the (-y) side of the four reference positions P0, the two reference positions on the (-y) side are determined. The etching curve of P0 is linearly interpolated to obtain a second interpolation etching curve. Specifically, if the distance in the x direction between one of the two reference positions P0 and the target position P1 is set to d3, and the distance in the x direction between the other reference position P0 and the target position P1 is set to d3. Set the distance to d4, then set (d4 / (d3 + d4)) as the weighting factor to match this one reference position Multiply the etching curve of P0. In addition, (d3 / (d3 + d4)) is set as a weighting factor to be multiplied by the etching curve of the other reference position P0. Then, the second interpolation etching curve is obtained by adding the multiplication results of the two etching curves.

Then, based on the distance in the y direction between the target position P1 and the two reference positions P0 on the (-x) side or (+ x) side of the four reference positions P0, the first interpolation etching curve and The second interpolation etching curve is linearly interpolated to obtain an etching curve. Specifically, if the distance in the y direction between the reference position P0 on the (+ y) side and the target position P1 of the two reference positions P0 is set to d5, and the reference position P0 of (-y) and the target The distance in the y-direction between the positions P1 is set to d6, then (d6 / (d5 + d6)) is set as a weighting factor to be multiplied by the first interpolation etching curve. In addition, (d5 / (d5 + d6)) is set as a weighting factor to be multiplied by the second interpolation etching curve. Then, an etching curve is obtained by adding the multiplication results of the two interpolation etching curves (that is, based on the plurality of etching curves that have been weighted as described above).

The target etching characteristic acquisition unit 218 obtains the target etching characteristics by acquiring the etching curves in the same manner as described above with respect to the types of all the etching curves included in the reference etching characteristics. The above processing is performed for all object positions (positions of all partial patterns 84), and a plurality of object etching characteristics corresponding to the plurality of object positions are acquired. In addition, the target etching characteristic of an object position arranged near the outer edge of the substrate 9 (test substrate 9a) and not having four reference positions P0 arranged around it is by using one or more reference positions P0 near the target position. It can be calculated by calculating the reference etching characteristics or as the reference etching characteristics of the closest reference position P0.

When a plurality of target etching characteristics are obtained for preparation, similar to the above-described processing described with reference to FIG. 4, the characteristic group acquisition unit 213 includes target locations corresponding to mutually similar target etching characteristics in one characteristic group. Group, and the plurality of object positions are divided into a specific number of determining characteristic groups (steps S12 to S16). Then, the segmentation data correction unit 217 determines the division of the design data based on the closest object position of the segmentation area corresponding to the segmentation data, that is, the determination that the object position indicating the position of the segmentation area belongs. The representative etching characteristic of the characteristic group is corrected (steps S17 to S18), and the drawing of the substrate 9 is performed using the drawing data based on the corrected data (steps S19 and S20).

As described above, in the process using the target etching characteristic acquisition unit 218, the reference etching characteristic is obtained in advance for each of the plurality of reference positions on the substrate 9. Then, for each of the plurality of target positions, weighting the plurality of reference etching characteristics of the plurality of reference positions based on the positional relationship between the object positions and the plurality of reference positions, and based on the weighted plurality of reference etching characteristics. An object etching characteristic at the object position is obtained. Therefore, even when a plurality of target positions are set on the substrate 9, it is possible to easily obtain an appropriate target at each target position while considering the difference in etching characteristics due to the different positions on the substrate 9. Etching characteristics. If the segmented data corresponding to each segmented area is modified based on the target etching characteristics of the segmented area, it is necessary to request a plurality of segmented data that have been corrected, but in this processing example, the object-based etching is used. The characteristics group a plurality of object positions, and the etching correction can be performed more efficiently than in the above case. In addition, the target etching characteristics of each target position can be obtained by various methods other than the above-mentioned bilinear interpolation.

In the above-mentioned processing example, in the drawing using the drawing device 1, in order to complete the correction of the design data within a tolerable time, the set group number is input by the operator in step S12 in FIG. 4, but it is also possible The number of groups is determined by other methods. Next, a process for determining the number of groups to be set by the group number determining unit 219 of FIG. 3 will be described.

When determining the number of groups to be set, a group number is set as a temporary number of groups of settings (a number smaller than the total number of target positions, hereinafter referred to as a "temporary group") under the control of the group number determining section 219 Quantity "), the same processing as in the above steps S13 to S15 is performed. In addition, a representative etching characteristic is obtained for each of the characteristic groups (determining characteristic groups) of the number of temporary groups grouped. Then, a value indicating a difference degree between the representative etching characteristic of each characteristic group and the target etching characteristic of all object positions belonging to the characteristic group is obtained (here, the higher the difference between the two, the larger the value).

Specifically, for each type of the etching curve, the difference (absolute value) between the etching amount representing the etching characteristic of each characteristic group and the etching curve of the target etching characteristic of each target position belonging to the characteristic group (absolute value) ) Calculated based on each of a plurality of predetermined gap widths. Find the sum of the differences of the plurality of gap widths as the distance between the two etching curves, and find the sum of the distances of all kinds of etching curves as the representative etching characteristic and the target etching characteristic Distance between characteristics. Furthermore, the sum of the distances between the characteristics of all object positions belonging to the characteristic group is obtained as a value representing the degree of difference between the representative etching characteristics of the characteristic group and the object etching characteristics of all object positions belonging to the characteristic group. Then, the sum of all characteristic groups representing the value of the degree of difference is determined as a judgment evaluation value.

The group number determination unit 219 obtains a judgment evaluation value for each of the plurality of temporary group numbers. Then, the number of temporary groups whose decision evaluation value is below a certain threshold, that is, the minimum degree at which the decision evaluation value converges to a certain degree, is determined as the set group number. In the above processing using the group number determination unit 219, the process of step S12 in FIG. 4 that determines the number of groups to be set includes the processing of steps S13 to S15. When the number of temporary groups is changed in ascending order, Simultaneously with the determination of the number of setting groups, the grouping of the plurality of target positions into the characteristic group (determining characteristic group) of the setting group number is completed.

As described above, in the group number determination unit 219, for each of the plurality of temporary group numbers, the characteristic group acquisition unit 213 is used to group the target positions to obtain an etching representative of each characteristic group. The sum of all characteristic groups of the characteristics and the value of the degree of difference from the object etching characteristics of all the object positions belonging to the characteristic group is used as the judgment evaluation value. Then, the minimum number of temporary groups that determines that the evaluation value falls below a specific threshold is determined as the number of set groups. This makes it easy to determine the preferred number of groups.

In the above-mentioned processing example, the representative etching characteristics are determined after the object positions are grouped into the determination characteristic group, but the representative etching characteristics may also be determined in advance. For example, the position of an object included in each of the decision characteristic groups determined by the above-mentioned processing example is specified. When the timing is updated as the calibration or the like for each fixed period, the processing according to FIG. 4 is performed.

Specifically, as in the above embodiment, the test pattern 93 is drawn on the test substrate 9a to obtain the target etching characteristics at a plurality of target positions (step S11). Then, the number of groups of the determined characteristic groups (hereinafter referred to as "determined characteristic groups before update") that have been obtained is set as the number of groups (step S12), and steps S13 and S14 are performed. At this time, in step S13, the representative etching characteristics of each determination characteristic group before the update are associated with one characteristic group and used as a group etching characteristic. In addition, steps S13 and S14 are not repeated (that is, step S15 is omitted), and the characteristic group obtained by one grouping process in step S14 is processed as the updated determined characteristic group.

In step S16, the representative etching characteristic of the determined characteristic group before the update is directly used as the representative etching characteristic of the determined characteristic group after the update. In addition, in this processing example, the plurality of partial patterns 84 (divided patterns) indicated by the plurality of divided data of the design data are also the same. Furthermore, the corrected segmentation data (the corrected segmentation data obtained using the representative etching characteristic) based on the representative etching characteristics based on the determination characteristic group before the update already exists. Therefore, in steps S17 and S18, for the segmented area that uses the target position included in each of the updated decision characteristic groups as the closest target position, the update based on the update corresponding to the updated decision characteristic group is directly used. Corrected segmentation data representing the etching characteristics of the previously determined characteristic group. Thereby, the acquisition (etching correction) of a plurality of corrected divided data corresponding to the plurality of divided regions, respectively, can be completed in a very short time. The new corrected data obtained by aggregating a plurality of corrected divided data is converted into drawing data and used in the drawing of the substrate 9 (steps S19 and S20).

In addition, when the same design pattern is drawn on the substrate 9 in the plurality of drawing devices 1, a plurality of corrected segmentation data may be obtained in advance based on a specific plurality of etching characteristics, and the plurality of etchings may be etched. Each of the characteristics is treated as a representative etching characteristic of the determined characteristic group before the update, and the above described in accordance with FIG. 4 is performed in each drawing device 1. deal with. In this case, it is possible to perform the etching correction with excellent efficiency while considering the difference in the distribution of the etching characteristics in the plurality of drawing devices 1.

Furthermore, a plurality of characteristic acquisition patterns may be included in a design pattern in which a plurality of partial patterns are arranged. In this case, based on the plurality of measurement patterns formed on the substrate 9 by drawing and etching, a plurality of target etching characteristics are obtained, and the object position is grouped to determine the characteristic group, and the representative of the characteristic group is determined. Acquisition of etching characteristics and acquisition of corrected data using the representative etching characteristics. In addition, each time a pattern is formed on the substrate 9 based on the corrected data, a plurality of measurement patterns on the substrate 9 are measured to obtain target etching characteristics at a plurality of target positions. Then, the representative etching characteristic of the above-mentioned determined characteristic group is used as a group etching characteristic to perform grouping processing, and the object position included in each characteristic group and the determined characteristic group corresponding to the characteristic group (before update) When the decision characteristic group is different, the characteristic group is set as the updated decision characteristic group to generate new corrected data. Therefore, when a change in the distribution of the etching characteristics caused by a change in various conditions occurs, it is possible to quickly obtain better corrected data (the same is true of the inspection device 1a described below).

Next, an inspection apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Fig. 12 is a block diagram showing the functions of the inspection device 1a. The inspection device 1a is a device for inspecting a pattern formed on the substrate 9 by etching after designing a design pattern. In the inspection device 1a, the pattern on the substrate 9 and the design data after the etching correction described below are compared. The inspection device 1a has a general computer system configuration similar to the data processing device 2 shown in FIG. 2.

The inspection apparatus 1 a includes a data correction section 21 a, an actual image memory section 25, and a defect detection section 26. The data correction section 21 a includes a design data storage section 211, an etching characteristic storage section 212, a characteristic group acquisition section 213, and a segmented data correction section 217 similarly to the data correction section 21 shown in FIG. 3. 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 detection section 26 detects defects of the pattern formed on the substrate 9. The inspection device 1a may be provided with the target etching characteristic acquisition unit 218 and a group shown in FIG. 3. Group number determination unit 219.

Next, a description will be given of a flow of inspection by the inspection apparatus 1a with reference to FIG. 13. During the inspection by the inspection device 1a, the same processing as that of steps S11 to S18 in FIG. 4 is performed. Specifically, the target etching characteristics of a plurality of target positions are acquired based on the measurement patterns formed on the test substrate 9a, and are stored in the etching characteristic storage section 212 for preparation (step S11). Then, the number of groups to be set is decided (step S12). In the characteristic group acquisition unit 213, the processes of steps S13 to S15 are performed. That is, the group etching characteristics of each characteristic group are acquired, and the grouping processing of the similarity evaluation values between the object etching characteristics of each object position and the group etching characteristics of each characteristic group is repeatedly performed until a specific condition is satisfied. Until the end condition is reached, the characteristic group is decided. In addition, a representative etching characteristic of the characteristic group is determined (step S16).

Then, the design data of the design pattern 83 is stored in the design data storage unit 211 for preparation (step S17). In the segmented data correction section 217, a plurality of segmented data representing a plurality of partial patterns 84 (see FIG. 10) are extracted from the design data of the design pattern 83, respectively. In other words, the design data of the design pattern 83 is divided into a plurality of divided data corresponding to the plurality of divided regions, respectively. Further, based on the etching characteristics of a decision characteristic group that represents the closest target position of the segmented area corresponding to each segmented data, the segmented data correction unit 217 corrects the segmented data (that is, performs an etching correction) to obtain each The segmentation data of the partial pattern 84 has been corrected (step S18).

Here, the content of the etching correction of the inspection device 1 a is different from the etching correction of the drawing device 1. Specifically, in consideration of the position of each partial pattern 84 of the substrate 9, over-etching according to the etching amount indicated by the etching characteristics is performed during actual etching. That is, correction is performed such that the graphic element included in each partial pattern 84 becomes the line width or size after actual etching, the line width of the graphic element of each divided data is made thinner, or the graphic element is made smaller. In other words, each segmented data is corrected in the opposite direction to the correction performed on each segmented data in the above-mentioned step S18 of the drawing device 1.

In the segmented data correcting section 217, the corrected segmented data corresponding to the plurality of partial patterns 84 is aggregated, and the design data of the revised design pattern 83 is the corrected data. The corrected data is sent from the data correction unit 21 to the defect detection unit 26.

Then, the image data of the etching pattern on the substrate 9 is acquired, and the image data is set as the inspection image data and stored in the actual image memory 25 for preparation (step S21). Here, the etching pattern on the substrate 9 is the following pattern, which forms a resist pattern by developing the pattern of the resist film drawn on the substrate 9 based on the design data of the design pattern 83 before correction, and It is formed on the substrate 9 by performing etching using this resist pattern. Step S21 may be performed simultaneously 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, and may also be acquired by the inspection device 1a. When the inspection device 1a acquires inspection image data, an imaging unit for acquiring inspection image data is provided in the inspection device 1a. In addition, in the above step S11, when the inspection device 1a acquires the image of the measurement pattern 96, it is preferable to acquire the inspection image data also in the inspection device 1a.

The inspection image data is sent from the actual image memory section 25 to the defect detection section 26. In the defect detection section 26, by comparing the inspection image data with the corrected data sent from the data correction section 21a (that is, the design data that has been etched and corrected by the data correction section 21a), it is detected that Defects in the etching pattern on the substrate 9 (step S22). As described above, the corrected data is corrected so that the graphic elements of each partial pattern 84 become the actual line width or size after etching. Therefore, in the defect detection section 26, the inspection image data and the The difference in the corrected data is regarded as a defect of the etching pattern on the substrate 9.

As described above, in the data correction unit 21a, object positions corresponding to mutually similar object etching characteristics are included in one characteristic group, and the plurality of object positions are divided into a specific number of determined characteristic groups. Then, the segmented data correction unit 217, Each segmented data of the design data is modified based on the etching characteristics of a determined characteristic group to which the closest object position representing the segmented area corresponding to the segmented data belongs. Thereby, highly accurate etching correction can be performed efficiently. In addition, in the inspection device 1a, it is possible to suppress a false alarm (a false defect caused by excessive etching) that is detected when the inspection image data is compared with the design data that has not been subjected to etching correction, with high accuracy. Inspection of the etching pattern on the substrate 9 is performed. Furthermore, by improving the efficiency of the etching correction, the pattern can be inspected in a short time.

Various changes can be made to the drawing device 1 and the inspection device 1a.

The order of the processes in FIGS. 4 and 13 may be changed as appropriate. For example, steps S17 and S11 to S16 can be performed in parallel, and step S17 can also be performed before steps S11 to S16.

The arrangement and number of the plurality of partial patterns 84 (the plurality of portions on the substrate 9) of the design pattern 83 are not limited to those shown in FIG. 10, and may 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 changed as appropriate. The characteristic acquisition patterns 95 need not necessarily be arranged at a fixed pitch. For example, the characteristic acquisition pattern 95 may be arranged relatively thinly on the substrate 9 in a region with a high yield, and the characteristic acquisition pattern 95 may be arranged densely in a region with a low yield.

The design pattern 83 may also include a plurality of partial patterns 84 of the same type and a plurality of partial patterns 84 of the same type. In this case, in the same plurality of partial patterns 84, it is also possible to use the same modified segmentation data for the partial patterns 84 of the closest object position belonging to the same characteristic group to efficiently perform high precision. Etching correction.

In the segmentation data correcting unit 217, the corrected partial pattern may be arranged in only one of two or more partial regions that uses the target position included in the determined characteristic group as the closest target position. The other partial areas only have information about the purpose of the same partial patterns as those arranged in the one partial area. In this case, when the converted data is converted by the data conversion unit 22, The register data of the corrected partial pattern of the partial region is the same as the register data of the other partial regions.

The drawing device 1 can be used for drawing patterns on various objects other than the substrate 9. The inspection device 1a can also be used for inspection of a pattern formed on various objects other than the substrate 9 by etching. The data correction sections 21 and 21a can be used as data correction devices independent from the drawing device 1 and the inspection device 1a. The data correction device can be used for correction of design data of patterns formed on various objects other than the substrate 9 by etching.

As long as the configurations of the above-mentioned embodiment and each modified example do not contradict each other, they can be appropriately combined.

The invention has been described in detail, but the above description is illustrative and not restrictive. Therefore, it can be said that a plurality of modifications or forms can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (15)

A data correction device which corrects design data of a pattern formed on an object by etching, and includes a design data memory unit that stores design data of a pattern formed on an object by etching; etching A characteristic memory unit that uses the etching characteristics acquired for each of the plurality of object positions on the object as the object etching characteristics, and memorizes the plurality of object etching characteristics for the plurality of object positions; a characteristic group acquisition unit, By including object positions corresponding to mutually similar object etching characteristics in one characteristic group, the plurality of object positions are divided into a specific number of characteristic groups less than the plurality of object positions; and segmentation data correction The division of the design data into a plurality of division data corresponding to a plurality of division areas set on the object, and based on a characteristic belonging to the closest object position representing the division area corresponding to each of the division data The segmented data of the group is modified to modify the segmented data; and the above-mentioned characteristic group acquisition section includes: a group A characteristic acquisition section that acquires the etching characteristics associated with each characteristic group as a group etching characteristic; a grouping processing section that is based on the degree of similarity between each object etching characteristic and the above-mentioned group etching characteristic of each characteristic group Grouping processing to include the object position corresponding to each of the above-mentioned object etching characteristics in any one of the specific number of characteristic groups; and a repetitive control section that makes use of the group The acquisition of the group etching characteristics by the characteristic acquisition section and the grouping processing by the grouping processing section are repeated until a specific condition is satisfied. For example, the data correction device of claim 1, wherein the group characteristic obtaining unit obtains the characteristic groups from the object etching characteristics of the object positions included in the characteristic groups by the previous grouping processing. The above group etching characteristics. For example, the data correction device of claim 1, wherein the division patterns represented by the plurality of division data of the design data are the same. For example, the data correction device of claim 1 further includes an object etching characteristic acquisition unit that acquires a reference etching characteristic in advance for each of the plurality of reference positions on the object, and targets the plurality of objects. Each of the positions is weighted based on the plurality of reference etching characteristics of the plurality of reference positions based on the positional relationship between each object position and the plurality of reference positions, and is obtained based on the weighted plurality of reference etching characteristics. The target etching characteristics of the target positions. For example, the data correction device of claim 1 further includes a group number determination unit, which groups the above-mentioned characteristic group acquisition unit for each of a plurality of temporary group numbers to obtain a representative representative. The sum of all the characteristic groups of the etching characteristics of each characteristic group and the value of the degree of difference from the object etching characteristics of all the object positions belonging to each of the above characteristic groups is used as the evaluation value, and the above evaluation value becomes the minimum below a specific threshold The number of temporary groups is determined as the specific number mentioned above. A drawing device is a person who draws a pattern on an object, and includes: the data correction device according to any one of claims 1 to 5; a light source; and a light modulation unit based on the data correction device that has been corrected by the data correction device. Designing data to modulate the light from the light source; and a scanning mechanism that scans the object on the object that has been modulated by the light modulating portion. An inspection device for inspecting a pattern formed on an object by etching And includes: a data correction device as claimed in any one of items 1 to 5; an actual image memory section that stores image data of a pattern formed on an object by etching, that is, inspection image data; and The defect detection unit detects a defect of the pattern formed on the object by comparing the design data corrected by the data correction device and the inspection image data. A data correction method that corrects design data of a pattern formed on an object by etching, and includes the following steps: a) preparing design data of a pattern formed on an object by etching; b) applying The etching characteristics obtained for each of the plurality of object positions on the object are used as the object etching characteristics, and the plurality of object etching characteristics for the plurality of object positions are prepared; c) the object etching characteristics are similar to each other The corresponding object position is included in one characteristic group, and the plurality of object positions are divided into a specific number of characteristic groups less than the plurality of object positions; and d) the design data is divided into and set on the object. The plurality of segmented data corresponding to the plurality of segmented areas above, and each segmented data is modified based on the etching characteristics representing a characteristic group to which the closest object position of the segmented area corresponding to the above segmented data belongs; The steps include the following steps: c1) obtaining the etching characteristics associated with each characteristic group as the group etching characteristics; c2) based on the table The value of the degree of similarity between each object etching characteristic and the above-mentioned group etching characteristic of each characteristic group, and the group including the object position corresponding to each of the object etching characteristics in any one of the specific number of characteristic groups is performed Grouping Processing; and obtaining the group etching characteristics of the step c1) and the grouping processing of the step c2) repeatedly until a specific condition is satisfied. For example, the data correction method of claim 8, wherein in the above step c1), the above-mentioned characteristic groups are obtained from the object etching characteristics of the object positions included in the above-mentioned characteristic groups by the previous grouping processing. The above-mentioned group etching characteristics. For example, the data correction method of item 8, wherein the division patterns represented by the plurality of divided data of the design data are the same. For example, the data correction method of claim 8, wherein the reference etching characteristics are obtained in advance for each of the plurality of reference positions on the object, and in step b) above, for each of the plurality of object positions, based on each Positional relationship between the object position and the plurality of reference positions, weighting the plurality of reference etching characteristics of the plurality of reference positions, and obtaining the object at each of the object positions based on the weighted plurality of reference etching characteristics Etching characteristics. For example, the data correction method of claim 8, wherein the above step c) is performed for each of a plurality of temporary groups, and the group is obtained to represent the etching characteristics representing each characteristic group and all the properties belonging to each characteristic group. The sum of all the characteristic groups of the difference values of the target etching characteristics at the target position is used as the evaluation value, and the minimum number of temporary groups whose evaluation value falls below a specific threshold is determined as the specific number. A drawing method that draws a pattern on an object and includes the steps of: correcting design data by a data correction method as claimed in any one of claims 8 to 12; and Scanning the modulated light on the object based on the revised design information. An inspection method that inspects a pattern formed on an object by etching, and includes the steps of: correcting design data by a data correction method such as any one of claims 8 to 12; and comparing by The corrected design data and the image data of the pattern formed on the object by etching are the inspection image data, and the defects of the pattern formed on the object are detected. A recording medium records a program for modifying design data of a pattern formed on an object by etching, and the execution of the above program using a computer causes the computer to perform the following steps: a) Prepare to use Design information of the pattern formed on the object by etching; b) The etching characteristic obtained for each of the plurality of object positions on the object is used as the object etching characteristic, and a plurality of object positions are prepared for the plurality of object positions Object etching characteristics; c) the object positions corresponding to mutually similar object etching characteristics are included in one characteristic group, and the plurality of object positions are divided into a specific number of characteristic groups less than the plurality of object positions ; And d) the design data is divided into a plurality of divided data corresponding to a plurality of divided areas set on the object, and based on which one of the closest object positions representing the divided areas corresponding to the above divided data belongs to The segmentation data of the characteristic group is modified; and the above step c) includes the following steps: c1) obtaining and Characteristics associated with the group to establish etching characteristics of an etching characteristic as a group; C2) based on the group represented by the above etching characteristics of each object and each group of properties The similarity value of the etching characteristics, and the grouping process of including the object position corresponding to each of the object etching characteristics in any one of the specific number of characteristic groups; and repeating the above group of step c1) The acquisition of the group etching characteristics and the above-mentioned grouping processing in step c2) are performed until a specific condition is satisfied.