US20070105245A1 - Wafer inspection data handling and defect review tool - Google Patents

Wafer inspection data handling and defect review tool Download PDF

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Publication number
US20070105245A1
US20070105245A1 US11/594,757 US59475706A US2007105245A1 US 20070105245 A1 US20070105245 A1 US 20070105245A1 US 59475706 A US59475706 A US 59475706A US 2007105245 A1 US2007105245 A1 US 2007105245A1
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United States
Prior art keywords
defect
image
review
tool
information
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Abandoned
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US11/594,757
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English (en)
Inventor
Tomohiro Funakoshi
Junko Konishi
Yuko Kariya
Noritsugu Takahashi
Fumiaki Endo
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Hitachi High Tech Corp
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Hitachi High Technologies Corp
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Assigned to HITACHI HIGH-TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION reassignment HITACHI HIGH-TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: KONISHI, JUNKO, ENDO, FUMIAKI, FUNAKOSHI, TOMOHIRO, KARIYA, YUKO, TAKAHASHI, NORITSUGU
Publication of US20070105245A1 publication Critical patent/US20070105245A1/en
Priority to US13/040,794 priority Critical patent/US8209135B2/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
    • G03F7/00—Photomechanical, e.g. photolithographic, production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g. printing surfaces; Materials therefor, e.g. comprising photoresists; Apparatus specially adapted therefor
    • G03F7/70—Microphotolithographic exposure; Apparatus therefor
    • G03F7/70483—Information management; Active and passive control; Testing; Wafer monitoring, e.g. pattern monitoring
    • G03F7/70605—Workpiece metrology
    • G03F7/70616—Monitoring the printed patterns
    • G03F7/7065—Defects, e.g. optical inspection of patterned layer for defects
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03F—PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES, e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR
    • G03F1/00—Originals for photomechanical production of textured or patterned surfaces, e.g., masks, photo-masks, reticles; Mask blanks or pellicles therefor; Containers specially adapted therefor; Preparation thereof
    • G03F1/68—Preparation processes not covered by groups G03F1/20 - G03F1/50
    • G03F1/82—Auxiliary processes, e.g. cleaning or inspecting
    • G03F1/84—Inspecting
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N21/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of optical means, i.e. using sub-millimetre waves, infrared, visible or ultraviolet light
    • G01N21/84—Systems specially adapted for particular applications
    • G01N21/88—Investigating the presence of flaws or contamination
    • G01N21/8851—Scan or image signal processing specially adapted therefor, e.g. for scan signal adjustment, for detecting different kinds of defects, for compensating for structures, markings, edges
    • G01N2021/8854—Grading and classifying of flaws
    • G01N2021/8861—Determining coordinates of flaws
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N21/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of optical means, i.e. using sub-millimetre waves, infrared, visible or ultraviolet light
    • G01N21/84—Systems specially adapted for particular applications
    • G01N21/88—Investigating the presence of flaws or contamination
    • G01N21/8851—Scan or image signal processing specially adapted therefor, e.g. for scan signal adjustment, for detecting different kinds of defects, for compensating for structures, markings, edges
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N21/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of optical means, i.e. using sub-millimetre waves, infrared, visible or ultraviolet light
    • G01N21/84—Systems specially adapted for particular applications
    • G01N21/88—Investigating the presence of flaws or contamination
    • G01N21/95—Investigating the presence of flaws or contamination characterised by the material or shape of the object to be examined
    • G01N21/9501—Semiconductor wafers

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a defect review operation concerning products or components being manufactured. Particularly, the invention relates to a system for improving the efficiency of the process of determining conditions in a tool for detecting particles or pattern defects on the surface of a semiconductor wafer, photo mask, magnetic disc, or liquid crystal display substrate, for example.
  • defects particles or pattern defects on the surface of a wafer during the production process may lead to defective products. Therefore, it is necessary to quantify such particles or pattern defects (to be hereafter referred to as defects) and constantly monitor the manufacturing equipment or environment for possible problems. It is also necessary to observe the shape of such a defect so as to determine if it could have a fatal impact on the final product.
  • ADR automatic defect review
  • ADC automatic defect classification
  • the information provided by the wafer inspection tool consists of the name of product and wafer identification numbers, such as the lot number and wafer number, the name of the process step under investigation, and the coordinates information about a detected defect, for example.
  • the modem inspection of the state-of-the-art devices may involve assigning a plurality of inspection conditions and obtaining a single result as an output. Further, as a result of the increase in the sensitivity of wafer inspection tools, the influence of noise has also increased, resulting in the total number of defects that are detected sometimes exceeding several tens of thousands or more. In order to eliminate such noise, a technique is employed whereby defects are classified by the RDC (Real-Time Defect Classification) function on the wafer inspection tool during inspection.
  • RDC Real-Time Defect Classification
  • the operation for detecting defects is very important for achieving higher yields.
  • wafer inspection tools are being required to provide better capability and performance for defect detection.
  • Wafer inspection tools have actually appeared that are capable of detecting defects with higher sensitivity.
  • Such enhanced sensitivity has also enabled the detection of very small defects, resulting in very large numbers of defects that are detected in which increasingly noise is also detected.
  • This has led to a very large number of defects whose shapes need to be confirmed using a defect review tool in a review operation. It has also led to an increase in the number of cases where no defects can be found by the review operation, resulting in a decrease in operational efficiency.
  • the collating method may vary from one operator to another, or variations could be introduced in the inspection conditions finalized in accordance with the result of such collation. It has also been difficult to set sensitivity to such a level that no noise that does not need to be detected in actual defect detection would be detected.
  • the invention allows a defect detected by a wafer inspection tool to be captured by a defect review tool reliably.
  • a review image in which a defect is reliably captured is easily obtained as information guiding the determination of such a defect inspection condition that a DOI (Defect of Interest) can be detected while reducing noise and improving the average defect capture ratio.
  • the defect review condition in the defect review tool is varied depending on the defect attributes provided by the wafer inspection tool so as to optimize the reviewing process. In this way, a detected defect can be surely captured in the review image provided by the defect review tool, and the reliability of defect inspection condition determination can be improved.
  • a data handling tool is prepared that is connected to both the wafer inspection tool and the defect review tool via a network.
  • the data handling tool processes the data provided by the wafer inspection tool and the defect review tool, and causes the defect ID of the result of inspection, which is performed a plurality of times with the same or varying inspection condition, a corresponding image data, and RDC attributes to be displayed and arranged.
  • Data concerning the same defect is grouped by collating the coordinates, and such defect information (coordinates and attributes) is outputted to the defect review tool.
  • the defect review tool modifies the review condition either manually or automatically, and acquires an image using such a review condition under which even a defect that is particularly difficult to observe can be captured in the image.
  • the thus obtained image is then fed back to the data handling tool and displayed alongside the information provided by the wafer inspection tool. In this way, an optimum wafer inspection condition can be determined in a short time.
  • the data handling tool may be integrally constructed with the defect review tool.
  • defect attributes such as the signal level of a defect, for example, are outputted to the defect review tool, and the review conditions of the defect review tool are optimized on the basis of that information.
  • This allows the capture of an image of a very small defect that has been heretofore difficult to obtain.
  • the image is then displayed alongside the information outputted by the wafer inspection tool, whereby the time it takes for the optimization of the inspection conditions for DOI detection can be reduced.
  • FIG. 1 shows an overall structure of a defect review assist system including a data handling tool according to the invention.
  • FIG. 2 shows how information is exchanged between various units.
  • FIG. 3 shows an example of defect information exchanged between a wafer inspection tool and a defect review tool.
  • FIG. 4 shows an example of the screen on which defect attributes provided by the wafer inspection tool are shown.
  • FIG. 5 shows an example of the screen displayed on the data handling tool.
  • FIG. 6 shows an example of the defect information outputted by the data handling tool to the defect review tool.
  • FIG. 7 shows an example of the operation screen of the defect review tool.
  • FIG. 8 shows an example of a frame addition optimizer window.
  • FIG. 9 shows an example of a graph window for the confirmation of the setting of the frame addition optimizer.
  • FIG. 10 shows an example of a magnification optimizer window.
  • FIG. 11 shows an example of a graph window for the confirmation of the setting of the magnification optimizer.
  • FIG. 12 shows a schematic diagram of an SEM defect review tool.
  • FIG. 1 shows an example of the overall structure of the system.
  • FIG. 2 shows how the defect attributes and ADR image information provided by the wafer inspection tool and the ADR/ADC information provided by the defect review tool are exchanged.
  • FIG. 3 shows an example of the defect information exchanged between the wafer inspection tool and the defect review tool. While in the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the data handling tool is shown independently provided, alternatively the data handling tool may be integrally constructed with the wafer inspection tool or the defect review tool.
  • Semiconductor production steps 11 are normally implemented in a clean room 10 in which a clean environment is maintained.
  • the clean room 10 houses a wafer inspection tool 1 for detecting a defect in a product wafer, and a defect review tool 2 for reviewing, i.e., observing the defect based on the data provided by the wafer inspection tool 1 .
  • the wafer inspection tool 1 and the defect review tool 2 are connected with a data handling tool 3 for the exchange of inspection/image data, via a communications line 4 .
  • the product wafers flow through the semiconductor production steps 11 on a lot-unit basis. Wafer inspection is performed after the completion of the production step that requires wafer inspection, at the wafer inspection tool 1 to which the wafer is transferred by the operator or a transferring robot. After the wafers are processed through the production steps 11 and by the wafer inspection tool 1 and the defect review tool 2 , each chip on the wafer is finally checked by a probe machine to make sure that there is no problem in its electric characteristics.
  • Defect information 21 obtained by wafer inspection is managed by the data handling tool 3 with respect to the lot number, wafer number, inspection step, and date of inspection.
  • FIG. 3 shows an example of the defect information 21 , which consists of the lot number, wafer ID, die layout, defect ID of a defect that has been detected during inspection, and its coordinate information, for example.
  • the defect information 21 may also contain a defect ADR image, defect attributes information (RDC information), and so on.
  • defect attributes information is shown in FIG. 4 .
  • This data is transmitted in the form of text data in a predetermined format, together with other defect information.
  • the defect information provided by the wafer inspection tool has consisted only of defect ID, its coordinates, and size, for example.
  • the invention provides a means for determining optimum inspection conditions in the wafer inspection tool based on the result of a plurality of inspections.
  • the maximum gray level difference refers to the absolute value of the gray level of a defect portion in a subtract image, which is obtained by processing the image of a location determined to include a defect and a corresponding reference image.
  • the reference image average gray level refers to an average value of the gray levels of a pixel portion on the reference image that has been determined to be the defect portion.
  • the defect image average gray level refers to an average value of the gray levels of a pixel portion on the defect image that has been determined to be the defect portion.
  • the polarity indicates whether the defect portion is brighter or darker than the reference image; “+” designates a brighter defect, and “ ⁇ ” designates a darker defect.
  • the inspection mode refers to the image comparison method used when a particular defect was found. It includes the die-to-die method, the cell-to-cell method, and their hybrid method.
  • the defect size, defect pixel number, and the width/height ratio of the defect show the size of the detected defect, where the defect size and the width/height ratio are in units of micrometers and the defect pixel number is in units of pixels.
  • the defect size ratio is a parameter representing the width-to-height ratio of the defect size. If the width and height were the same, the parameter would be 1 ; if the width were twice the height, the parameter would be 2 , and so on.
  • the defect pixel differential value represents a differential value of the pixel portion on the defect image or the reference image that has been determined to be a defect.
  • the value indicates the rate of change of gray value in the pixel portion.
  • the value in the defect image portion is referred to as a defect-pixel differential value on defect image, while the corresponding value in the reference image portion is referred to as a defect-pixel differential value on reference image.
  • the wafer of which wafer inspection has been completed is transferred to the defect review tool 2 for defect review. Specifically, a predetermined wafer is picked out of the lot and reviewed.
  • defect information 22 b and 23 b is acquired from the data handling tool 3 , using the information about the wafer to be reviewed, i.e., the lot number, wafer number, and inspection step, as key information.
  • the defect information includes not only the defect ID and coordinates data but also defect attributes obtained upon inspection. Conventionally, the defect information 22 b and 23 b has not included the defect attributes provided by the wafer inspection tool.
  • the defect information 22 b or 23 b which is extracted by the data handling tool 3 using multiple filter functions, is sent to the optical defect review tool 24 or an SEM defect review tool 25 via the communications line 4 .
  • the defect information 22 b and 23 b is generally in the same format as the defect information 21 .
  • the optical defect review tool 24 or SEM defect review tool 25 acquires an image of the defect detected portion. Defect classification is then carried out based on the image by the ADC function installed on each defect review tool. Specifically, the wafer of which wafer inspection has been completed is retained on the sample stage of the optical defect review tool 24 or SEM defect review tool 25 . The stage is moved to the coordinates position of the defect contained in the defect information 22 b or 23 b, where a defect image is acquired. The defect is then classified according to the features of the thus acquired defect image. The resultant information is sent to the data handling tool 3 as ADR/ADC information 22 a or 23 a via the communications line 4 .
  • the large volume of inspection/image data provided by the wafer inspection tool, and also the large volume of ADR/ADC information provided by the defect review tool are displayed side by side.
  • a screen 30 shown in FIG. 5 is prepared on the data handling tool.
  • the screen 30 includes a table 31 showing the defect ID 34 and ADR image 35 provided by the wafer inspection tool, the defect attributes 38 , and the ADR image 36 and ADC classification information 37 provided by the defect review tool, each under a heading 39 . Any location of the table can be designated using scroll bars 47 .
  • the screen 30 also includes buttons 48 for directly selecting the defect information to be displayed.
  • the headings 39 show the defect ID, image by wafer inspection tool, image by defect review tool, review category, and the maximum gray level difference, which are the parameters shown in FIG. 4 indicating defect attributes.
  • the table 31 shows the information about such defects on the same line.
  • the table shown concerns an example in which inspection was conducted four times with the same inspection conditions or with varying inspection conditions in terms of focus offset, inspection threshold, and inspection magnification, for example, so that a maximum of four kinds of information are shown for a single defect. For example, with regard to the defect shown at the top in FIG. 5 , four images from the wafer inspection tool are displayed.
  • the corresponding columns are empty if there is no such images for a particular defect ID.
  • a button 49 is provided for outputting the result of coordinates collation and the defect attributes 38 in the format of FIG. 3 .
  • the screen includes the scroll bars 47 .
  • the information contained in the table can be sorted in the ascending or descending order based on the information about the heading clicked. For example, by clicking AVG GL Def, 1 , the entire information is sorted in the ascending or descending order of the AVG GL Def. Such sorting allows for an easy understanding of what kind of defect has what attributes. Furthermore, by referring to the defect pictured in the image provided by the wafer inspection tool or the defect review tool, it can be easily confirmed what appearance the defect of real concern should have, and whether or not it is a nuisance defect. In the example of table 31 , information about each defect ID is displayed side by side horizontally; it goes without saying, however, that the same information may be arranged vertically.
  • review data creating button 49 As the review data creating button 49 is depressed, review data is created ( 22 b and 23 b of FIG. 2 ) as shown in FIG. 6 .
  • Such review data includes the defect ID, defect size, and attributes that have been displayed on the screen 30 of FIG. 5 when depressing the review data creating button 49 .
  • This review data is sent to the optical defect review tool 24 or the SEM defect review tool 25 of FIG. 2 via the network 4 of FIG. 2 .
  • FIG. 7 shows an operation screen 60 of the optical defect review tool 24 or the SEM defect review tool 25 .
  • This screen shows a defect map 61 showing the distribution of defects as dots on a wafer map, based on the information 22 b and 23 b acquired from the wafer inspection tool.
  • the screen also shows a defect list 70 showing IDs 62 of the defects shown on the defect map, the X coordinate 63 of the die, Y coordinate 64 of the die, intra-die X coordinate 65 , intra-die Y coordinate 66 , X-direction size 67 of the defect, Y-direction size 68 of the defect, and the defect maximum gray level difference 69 , for example.
  • the screen shows a defect review image 71 , a defect review condition table 72 , a frame addition optimizer button 73 , and a magnification optimizer button 74 .
  • a defect review image 71 By clicking a desired point on the map 61 indicating a defect, or any given defect information in the list 70 , any defect that is to be reviewed can be shown in the defect review image 71 .
  • the information provided by the wafer inspection tool has consisted only of the defect ID, coordinates, and size.
  • a defect image has been acquired merely with the same electron beam acceleration voltage, probe current, and frame addition number under the same review conditions in, for example, the SEM defect review tool.
  • the frame addition number or the magnification of the defect to be reviewed can be varied depending on the maximum gray level difference or the size of the subtract image upon detection by the wafer inspection tool.
  • the invention aims to make it possible to reliably capture an image of even those defects having a small maximum gray level difference, i.e., defects that have been difficult to detect using the wafer inspection tool and of which review by the defect review tool has also been difficult.
  • the window 80 of FIG. 8 that appears upon pressing of the button 73 shows a table 81 for the setting of a frame addition number and for the setting of a range of maximum gray level difference (Max GL_Diff) for the application of that value, and a graph button 82 for the confirmation of those settings on a graph.
  • a graph 90 is displayed in which the gray level difference is shown on the horizontal axis and the number of image addition frames is shown on the vertical axis.
  • Use of these tables makes it possible to make settings such as shown in FIG. 8 , for example, where the frame addition number of 128 is allocated to the gray level difference of 100 or less, 64 to the difference of 100 or more and 180 or less, and 32 to 180 or more.
  • the window 100 of FIG. 10 that appears upon pressing of the button 74 shows a table 101 for the setting of magnification and a range of defect size in which the relevant value should be applied, and a graph button 102 for the confirmation of those settings on a graph.
  • a graph 110 is displayed in which the defect size is shown on the horizontal axis and the magnification on the vertical axis.
  • the values in the table 101 displayed in the window 100 of FIG. 10 are default values that are determined in advance through experience or otherwise, the user may alternatively modify those values as needed.
  • an image of a defect can be reliably obtained in the defect review tool.
  • FIG. 12 shows a schematic diagram of the SEM defect review tool according to the invention.
  • the defect review tool includes a sample stage 1202 for retaining and moving a test subject 1201 , an electron beam column 1203 for scanning the test subject by irradiating it with an electron beam, and a secondary electron detector 1204 for detecting secondary electrons emitted by the test subject upon electron beam irradiation.
  • the sample stage 1201 is driven to a desired stage coordinates position by a stage drive unit 1206 , which is controlled by a control unit 1205 .
  • An electron beam image of the test subject which is obtained by capturing a signal from the secondary electron detector 1204 in synchronism with the electron bean scan, is displayed on the display unit 1207 .
  • the defect information from the wafer inspection tool and the data handling tool is fed to the tool via a data input unit 1208 .
  • the display unit 1207 displays not only the defect image of the test subject, but also the screen 30 shown in FIG. 5 , the operation screen shown in FIG. 7 , and the windows shown in FIGS. 8-11 as needed.
  • the scrolling operation on the screen shown in FIG. 5 , and the operation of the defect selection button 48 for the selection of a defect to be displayed or the like, are carried out using an input device 1209 , such as a keyboard or a mouse.
  • the memory 1210 stores a table defining the relationship between a range of maximum gray level difference (Max GL_Diff) and the frame addition number, and a table defining the relationship between a defect size range and magnification.
  • the control unit 1205 processes data that is input or performs image processing as well as controls the stage drive unit 1206 , the electron beam column 1203 , and the display unit 1207 .
  • the control unit 1205 may also provide the function of the data handling tool shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 .
  • the structure of the SEM defect review tool shown in FIG. 12 will basically remain the same in the case of an optical defect review tool, with the only difference being that the electron beam column and the detector would be replaced with an optical microscope column and an imaging device, respectively.
US11/594,757 2005-11-10 2006-11-09 Wafer inspection data handling and defect review tool Abandoned US20070105245A1 (en)

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