Electron beam irradiation method and scanning electronic microscope

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9257259-B2
Application number	US-201113807577-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 8, 2011
Priority date	Jun 30, 2010
Publication date	Feb 9, 2016
Grant date	Feb 9, 2016

Abstract

Provided is an electron beam scanning method for forming an electric field for appropriately guiding electrons emitted from a pattern to the outside of the pattern, and also provided is a scanning electron microscope. When an electron beam for forming charge is irradiated to a sample, a first electron beam is irradiated to a first position ( 1 ) and a second position ( 2 ) having the center ( 104 ) of a pattern formed on the sample as a symmetrical point, and is then additionally irradiated to two central positions ( 3, 4 ) between the first and second irradiation position, the two central positions ( 3, 4 ) being on the same radius centered on the symmetrical point as are the first and second positions. Further, after that, the irradiation of the first electron beam to the central positions between existing scanning positions on the radius is repeated.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An electron beam irradiation method in which a sample is irradiated with a first electron beam and charged and measurement or inspection of the sample is performed based on electrons obtained by scanning with a second electron beam to the charged sample, the method comprising the steps of:
irradiating the first electron beam to a first position and a second position, the first position and the second position being symmetrically arranged with a pattern center of a hole pattern formed on the sample as a point of symmetry, the first position and the second position being arranged outside the hole pattern;
after then, irradiating further the first electron beam to two middle positions located between the first and second positions already irradiated by the first electron beam, and on a circumference of a circle defined by the first and second positions with the point of symmetry as a center of the circle; and
further thereafter repeating irradiations of the first electron beam to middle positions on the circumference of the circle between positions already scanned by the first electron beam in a manner that the first electron beam is deflected so as to be selectively irradiated on an area outside the hole pattern.

2. The electron beam irradiation method according to claim 1 , wherein the first electron beam is irradiated excluding an inner region defined by a circumferential edge of the hole pattern.

3. The electron beam irradiation method according to claim 1 , wherein two irradiations of the first electron beam to two positions, which are arranged symmetrically on the circumference of the circle as the pattern center of the hole pattern as a point of symmetry, is continuously performed without irradiating an electron beam to other positions between the two irradiations.

4. The electron beam irradiation method according to claim 1 , wherein a scanning direction is changed between the first position and the second position during irradiation of the first electron beam by 90 degrees or 180 degrees.

5. The electron beam irradiation method according to claim 1 , wherein the first electron beam is scanned from an outside of the hole pattern toward the pattern center or from the pattern center toward the outside of the hole pattern.

6. A scanning electron microscope comprising:
an electron source;
a lens that converges an electron beam emitted from the electron source, and
a deflector that deflects an irradiation position of an electron beam, the deflector comprising
a controller that controls the deflector, the controller controlling the deflector so that a sample is irradiated with a first electron beam to charge a sample and scanning of a second electron beam onto the charged sample is performed, wherein:

the controller controls the deflector so that:
the first electron beam is irradiated to a first position and a second position, the first position and the second position being symmetrically arranged with a pattern center of a hole pattern formed on the sample as a point of symmetry, the first position and the second position being arranged outside the hole pattern,
the first electron beam is further irradiated after then to two middle positions located between the first and second positions already irradiated by the first electron beam, and on a circumference of a circle defined by the first and second positions with the point of symmetry as a center, and
irradiations of the first electron beam to middle positions on the circumference of the circle between positions already scanned by the first electron beam is thereafter repeated further in a manner that the first electron beam is deflected so as to be selectively irradiated on an area outside the hole pattern.

7. The scanning electron microscope according to claim 6 , wherein the controller controls the deflector so that the first beam is irradiated excluding an inner region defined by a circumferential edge of the hole pattern as a closed figure.

8. The scanning electron microscope according to claim 6 , wherein the controller controls the deflector so that two irradiations of the first electron beam to two positions, which are arranged symmetrically on the circumference of the circle as the pattern center of the hole pattern as a point of symmetry, is continuously performed without irradiating an electron beam to other positions between the two irradiations.

9. The scanning electron microscope according to claim 6 , wherein the controller controls the deflector so that a scanning direction is changed between the first position and the second position during irradiation of the first electron beam 90 degrees or 180 degrees.

10. The scanning electron microscope according to claim 6 , wherein the controller controls the deflector so that the first electron beam is scanned from an outside of the hole pattern toward the pattern center or from the pattern center toward the outside of the hole pattern.

Assignees

• Kobayashi Kinya
• Yokosuka Toshiyuki
• Lee Chahn
• Hitachi High Tech Corp

Inventors

• Kobayashi Kinya
• Yokosuka Toshiyuki
• Lee Chahn

Classifications

• H01J37/244

  Detectors; Associated components or circuits therefor · CPC title

• H01J2237/281

  Bottom of trenches or holes · CPC title

• H01J37/28 Primary

  with scanning beams {(H01J37/268, H01J37/292, H01J37/2955 take precedence)} · CPC title

• H01J2237/24592

  Inspection and quality control of devices · CPC title

• H01J37/147

  Arrangements for directing or deflecting the discharge along a desired path ({H01J37/045 take precedence;} lenses H01J37/10) · CPC title