Integrated system and method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11294164-B2
Application number	US-201916523514-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 26, 2019
Priority date	Jul 26, 2019
Publication date	Apr 5, 2022
Grant date	Apr 5, 2022

Abstract

A method and an integrated system. The integrated system can include an optical inspection unit, a charged particle device, an interface unit, and at least one controller.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An integrated system comprising: a charged particle device configured to evaluate an object, the charged particle device comprising a charged particle device chamber having a chamber housing that defines an inner space, a chuck configured to support the object while the object is positioned within the inner space, a movement system configured to move the chuck, a charged particle module configured to evaluate the object by irradiating the object with a charged particle beam and detecting particles emitted from the object, and a load lock, wherein a length of the inner space is smaller than twice a length of the object, and a width of the inner space is smaller than twice a width of the object;
an optical inspection unit;
an interface unit having at least one load port for supporting a cassette and a robot configured to: receive a plurality of objects in the cassette, provide a first object of the plurality of objects to the charged particle device through the load lock, and provide a second object of the plurality of objects to the optical inspection unit while the first object is positioned within the charged particle device; and
at least one controller that is configured to control the optical inspection unit, the charged particle device and the interface unit such that the optical inspection unit inspects the second object while the charged particle device evaluates the first object.

2. The integrated system according to claim 1 wherein the charged particle device is a scanning electron microscope.

3. The integrated system according to claim 1 wherein the length of the inner space is smaller than twice the length of the object and exceeds 1.5 times of the length of the object; and the width of the inner space is smaller than twice the width of the object and exceeds 1.5 times of the width of the object.

4. The integrated system according to claim 1 wherein the charged particle device comprises:
an intermediate element that is positioned between the chamber housing and the movement system;
at least one sealing element that is configured to form a dynamic seal between the intermediate element and the chamber housing, wherein the dynamic seal is configured to seal the inner space from the movement system; and
wherein the movement system is configured to perform, for each region of the object out of a plurality of regions of the object, (a) a rotation of the chuck to position a given portion of the region of the object within a field of view of the charged particle module; and (b) a movement of the chuck in relation to the charged particle module to position additional portions of the region of the object within the field of view of the charged particle module.

5. The integrated system according to claim 1 further comprising a vibration isolation system coupled between the charged particle device and the interface unit.

6. The integrated system according to claim 5 wherein the vibration isolation system comprises bellows.

7. The integrated system according to claim 1 further comprising load ports that are parallel to the charged particle device.

8. The integrated system according to claim 1 wherein the object is a semiconductor wafer.

9. The integrated system according to claim 1 wherein the object is a lithographic mask.

10. A method for evaluating objects by an integrated system, the method comprising:
receiving, by an interface unit of the integrated system, a plurality of objects;
providing, by the interface unit, a first object of the plurality of objects to a charged particle device; wherein the charged particle device comprises a chuck, a movement system, a charged particle module, a load lock, and a charged particle device chamber that has an inner space;
providing, by the interface unit, a second object of the plurality of objects to an optical inspection unit;
evaluating, by the charged particle device, the first object; wherein the evaluating comprises (a) supporting the first object by the chuck while the first object is positioned within the inner space, (b) moving the first object by the movement system, (c) irradiating the first object by charged particle module with a charged particle beam, and (d) detecting particles emitted from the first object;
inspecting, by the inspection unit, the second object;
wherein the evaluating and the inspecting at least partially overlap in time; and
wherein a length of the inner space is smaller than twice a length of the first object, and a width of the inner space is smaller than twice a width of the first object.

11. The method according to claim 10 wherein the charged particle device is a scanning electron microscope.

12. The method according to claim 10 wherein the length of the inner space is smaller than twice the length of the object and exceeds 1.5 times of the length of the object, and the width of the inner space is smaller than twice the width of the object and exceeds 1.5 times of the width of the object.

13. The method according to claim 10 further comprising repeating, for each region of the object out of a plurality of regions of the object, the steps of:
rotating the chuck, by the movement system, to position a given portion of the region of the object within a field of view of the charged particle module; and
moving the chuck, by the movement system, in relation to the charged particle module to position additional portions of the region of the object within the field of view of the charged particle module.

14. The method according to claim 13 wherein the object has a radial symmetry and wherein the plurality of regions comprise four regions.

15. The method according to claim 10 further comprising dumping vibrations by a vibration isolation system coupled between the particle device and the interface unit.

16. The method according to claim 15 wherein the vibration isolation system comprises bellows.

17. The method according to claim 10 further comprising providing, by the interface unit, the second object to the charged particle device; and reviewing, by the charged particle device, suspected defects of the second object; wherein the suspected detects were found by the optical inspection unit.

18. The method according to claim 17 further comprising modifying an inspection recipe of the optical inspection unit based on an outcome of the reviewing of the suspected defects of the second object.

Assignees

• Applied Materials Israel Ltd

Inventors

• Krivts (Krayvitz) Igor
• Uziel Yoram
• Mariasin Albert
• Merry Nir
• Elichai Rami
• Goren Zvi

Classifications

• G02B21/008

  Details of detection or image processing, including general computer control · CPC title

• H01J2237/2811

  Large objects · CPC title

• H01J37/226

  Optical arrangements for illuminating the object; optical arrangements for collecting light from the object · CPC title

• G02B21/26 Primary

  Stages; Adjusting means therefor · CPC title

• G01N21/9501

  Semiconductor wafers (manufacturing processes per se of semiconductor devices implementing a measuring step H10P74/20) · CPC title