Metal pattern inspection method and focused ion beam apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12456599-B2
Application number	US-202118027051-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 4, 2021
Priority date	Sep 25, 2020
Publication date	Oct 28, 2025
Grant date	Oct 28, 2025

Abstract

A metal pattern inspection method which applies a pulsed voltage to a metallic pattern, sets a cycle of the pulsed voltage to be shorter than a scanning cycle in which a focused ion beam is swept, indicating only a region of a secondary charged particle image corresponding to a portion of the metallic pattern which is isolated by a wire breakage and to which the pulsed voltage is applied in the form of a first pattern created as a function of surface electrical potentials changing in level with time, detecting, as a disconnection, a boundary between the first pattern and a second pattern created as a function of surface electrical potentials not changing in level with time, and determining whether there is a breaking of or a short circuit in the metallic pattern based on the presence or absence of the disconnection.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A metal pattern inspection method comprising:
applying voltage to a metallic pattern formed on a surface of an inspection target substrate;
scanning an inspection region on the inspection target substrate where the metallic pattern is formed using a focused ion beam cyclically in a raster scan mode to produce a secondary charged particle image of the inspection region as a function of intensities of secondary charged particles ejected from the inspection target substrate; and
detecting a breaking of or a short circuit in the metallic pattern from the secondary charged particle image, wherein
a pulsed voltage which changes in level with time is applied to the metallic pattern, and
a cycle of the pulsed voltage is selected to be shorter than a scanning cycle in which the focused ion beam is swept in a vertical or a horizontal direction.

2. The metal pattern inspection method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein a portion of the metallic pattern to which the pulsed voltage is applied is represented on the secondary charged particle image in a form of a first pattern defined as a function of the pulsed voltage changing in level with time,
a portion of the metallic pattern to which the pulsed voltage is not applied is represented on the secondary charged particle image is represented in a form of a second pattern defined as a function of voltage remaining unchanged in level with time,
a boundary between the first pattern and the second pattern is detected as a disconnection, and
the breaking of the metallic pattern is determined to be occurring when the disconnection exists.

3. The metal pattern inspection method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein a portion of the metallic pattern to which the pulsed voltage is applied is represented on the secondary charged particle image in a form of a first pattern defined as a function of the pulsed voltage changing in level with time,
a portion of the metallic pattern to which the pulsed voltage is not applied is represented on the secondary charged particle image is represented in a form of a second pattern defined as a function of potential remaining unchanged in level with time, and
design pattern images which are electrically separate from each other are prepared and compared with the secondary charged particle image to detect the short circuit.

4. The metal pattern inspection method as set forth in claim 1 , wherein a direction in which the focused ion beam is swept is selected to be perpendicular to a direction in which the metallic pattern extends.

5. A focused ion beam apparatus comprising:
a focused ion beam optical system which works to emit a focused ion beam to an inspection target substrate which has a metallic pattern formed on a surface thereof;
a secondary charged particle detector which works to measure intensities of secondary charged particles ejected from the inspection target substrate when subjected to the focused ion beam;
an image generator which produces an image of the inspection target substrate in a form of a secondary charged particle image as a function of the intensities measured by the secondary charged particle detector; and
a mechanism which works to apply voltage to the inspection target substrate, wherein
the focused ion beam optical system serves to cyclically scan an inspection region which has the metallic pattern formed on the inspection target substrate using a focused ion beam in a raster scan mode,
a pulsed voltage which changes in level with time is applied to the metallic pattern,
a cycle of the pulsed voltage is selected to be shorter than a scanning cycle in which the focused ion beam is swept in a vertical direction,
the image generator produces a first pattern and a second pattern, the first pattern being defined as a function of the pulsed voltage changing in level with time and appearing on a portion of the metallic pattern to which the pulsed voltage is applied on the secondary charged particle image, the second pattern being defined as a function of potential remaining unchanged in level with time and appearing on a portion of the metallic pattern to which the pulsed voltage is not applied.

6. The focused ion beam apparatus as set forth in claim 5 , wherein a direction in which the focused ion beam is swept is selected to be perpendicular to a direction in which the metallic pattern extends.

7. The focused ion beam apparatus as set forth in claim 5 , further comprising a film formation controller which delivers deposition gas to a breaking of the metallic pattern which is detected by analyzing the secondary charged particle image produced by the image generator, and wherein the focused ion beam optical system emits the focused ion beam to decompose the deposition gas to form a repairing CVD film on the breaking.

8. The focused ion beam apparatus as set forth in claim 5 , wherein the focused ion beam optical system works to emit the focused ion beam to circuit in the metallic pattern which is detected by analyzing the secondary charged particle image produced by the image generator to remove the short circuit using sputtering techniques.

9. The focused ion beam apparatus as set forth in claim 5 , wherein the mechanism serving to apply the voltage to the inspection target substrate includes a probing mechanism which applies the pulsed voltage to the metallic pattern.

10. The focused ion beam apparatus as set forth in claim 7 , wherein the mechanism serving to apply the voltage to the inspection target substrate includes a probing mechanism which applies the pulsed voltage to the metallic pattern.

11. The focused ion beam apparatus as set forth in claim 8 , wherein the mechanism serving to apply the voltage to the inspection target substrate includes a probing mechanism which applies the pulsed voltage to the metallic pattern.

Assignees

• V Tech Co Ltd

Inventors

• Mizumura Michinobu

Classifications

• H10P74/00

  Testing or measuring during manufacture or treatment of wafers, substrates or devices · CPC title

• H01J2237/2817

  Pattern inspection · CPC title

• H01J2237/2806

  Secondary charged particle · CPC title

• H01J37/32449 Primary

  Gas control, e.g. control of the gas flow · CPC title

• H01J37/3178

  for applying thin layers on objects · CPC title