公开(公告)号：US20180031498A1

公开(公告)日：2018-02-01

申请号：US15652994

申请日：2017-07-18

Applicant: NuFlare Technology, Inc.

Inventor： Masataka SHIRATSUCHI ,  Chosaku NODA ,  Riki OGAWA

IPC: G01N23/225 ,  H01J37/147 ,  H01J37/22 ,  H01J37/20

CPC classification number: G01N23/2251 ,  G01N2223/3301 ,  G01N2223/3307 ,  G01N2223/426 ,  G01N2223/6116 ,  H01J37/1474 ,  H01J37/20 ,  H01J37/22

Abstract: A charged particle beam inspection apparatus includes a first deflector to deflect N×N′ multiple beams collectively to N×N′ small regions having a size p/M in the first direction and arrayed at the pitch p in the first direction, perform tracking deflection, and re-deflect the multiple beams collectively to next N×N′ small regions away from the N×N′ small regions by N small regions in the first direction, by the stage completes a movement of a distance of N/M×p so as to reset the tracking deflection; and a second deflector to deflect the multiple beams collectively to scan the N×N′ small regions concerned while the tracking deflection is performed.

公开(公告)号：US20210010959A1

公开(公告)日：2021-01-14

申请号：US16907925

申请日：2020-06-22

Applicant: NuFlare Technology, Inc.

Inventor： Masataka SHIRATSUCHI ,  Riki OGAWA ,  Hiromu INOUE

IPC: G01N23/2251 ,  H01J37/30 ,  H01J37/317

Abstract: Provided is an inspection apparatus including: an irradiation source irradiating a first pattern formed on an inspection target object with an electron beam; a detection circuit acquiring a first inspection image generated from the first pattern by irradiation; a filter circuit performing smoothing using a local region having a first size in a direction parallel to a first outline included in the first inspection image and a second size smaller than the first size in a direction perpendicular to the first outline and acquiring a second inspection image including a second outline generated by the smoothing; and a comparison circuit comparing the second inspection image with a predetermined reference image.

公开(公告)号：US20210319974A1

公开(公告)日：2021-10-14

申请号：US17194544

申请日：2021-03-08

Applicant: NuFlare Technology, Inc.

Inventor： Kazuhiko INOUE ,  Masataka SHIRATSUCHI ,  Munehiro OGASAWARA

IPC: H01J37/147 ,  H01J37/153 ,  H01J37/244 ,  H01J37/28

Abstract: A multi-charged particle beam irradiation apparatus includes a forming mechanism to form multiple charged particle beams, a multipole deflector array to individually deflect each beam of the multiple charged particle beams so that a center axis trajectory of each beam of the multiple charged particle beams may not converge in a region of the same plane orthogonal to the direction of a central axis of a trajectory of the multiple charged particle beams, and an electron optical system to irradiate a substrate with the multiple charged particle beams while maintaining a state where the multiple charged particle beams are not converged.

公开(公告)号：US20200286709A1

公开(公告)日：2020-09-10

申请号：US16777967

申请日：2020-01-31

Applicant: NuFlare Technology, Inc.

Inventor： Masataka SHIRATSUCHI ,  Riki Ogawa ,  Hiromu Inoue

IPC: H01J37/244 ,  H01J37/24

Abstract: A multiple electron beam inspection apparatus includes a correction circuit that corrects a partial secondary electron image of partial secondary electron images configuring a secondary electron image and obtained by irradiation with a corresponding primary electron beam of the multiple primary electron beams such that the partial secondary electron image becomes close to a uniform beam partial image when an irradiation region of a primary electron beam corresponding to the partial secondary electron image is irradiated with a uniform beam obtained by equalizing shapes and sizes of all primary electron beams, by using a function for individual correction of each primary electron beam, for each of the plural partial secondary electron images, and an inspection circuit that performs inspection using plural partial secondary electron images each corrected.

公开(公告)号：US20240175829A1

公开(公告)日：2024-05-30

申请号：US18500367

申请日：2023-11-02

Applicant: NuFlare Technology, Inc.

Inventor： Masataka SHIRATSUCHI ,  Riki OGAWA ,  Chosaku NODA

IPC: G01N23/2251 ,  G06T7/00 ,  G06T7/33 ,  G06T7/73

CPC classification number: G01N23/2251 ,  G06T7/001 ,  G06T7/337 ,  G06T7/74 ,  G06T2207/10061 ,  G06T2207/30148

Abstract: An image acquisition circuit is configured to acquire inspection images based on secondary electrons generated by electron beams emitted to a first area of a sample on a stage. The first area includes sub areas. An estimation circuit is configured to estimate an amount of rotation of an array of the electron beams emitted to the first area based on an amount of misalignment between reference images respectively indicative of patterns to be respectively formed in the sub areas and the inspection images. The stage control circuit is configured to control, based on the amount of rotation, a focus position of the electron beams to be emitted to a second area of the sample. The comparison circuit is configured to compare the reference images with the inspection images.

公开(公告)号：US20190279348A1

公开(公告)日：2019-09-12

申请号：US16271909

申请日：2019-02-11

Applicant: NuFlare Technology, Inc.

Inventor： Ryoichi HIRANO ,  Hideo TSUCHIYA ,  Masataka SHIRATSUCHI ,  Hideaki HASHIMOTO ,  Riki OGAWA

IPC: G06T7/00 ,  G01N21/956 ,  G06T5/50

Abstract: Provided is a pattern inspection method including: irradiating a substrate with an electron beam, a pattern being formed on the substrate; acquiring an inspection image as a secondary electron image of the pattern; setting a pixel value equal to or less than a first threshold value minus a half of a predetermined detection width of the inspection image and a pixel value equal to or more than the first threshold value plus a half of the predetermined detection width of the inspection image to unprocessed; acquiring a difference image between the inspection image having the pixel value having less than the first threshold value minus the half of the predetermined detection width and the pixel value having more of the first threshold value plus the half of the predetermined detection width being set to unprocessed and a reference image of the inspection image; and performing inspection on the basis of the difference image.

公开(公告)号：US20250132119A1

公开(公告)日：2025-04-24

申请号：US19009902

申请日：2025-01-03

Applicant: NuFlare Technology, Inc.

Inventor： Kazuhiko INOUE ,  Munehiro OGASAWARA ,  Masataka SHIRATSUCHI

IPC: H01J37/147 ,  H01J37/05 ,  H01J37/153

Abstract: According to one aspect of the present invention, a multi-electron beam image acquisition apparatus, includes: a plurality of first electrostatic deflectors in two stages, each of the first electrostatic deflectors having a plurality of electrodes of quadrupoles or more, configured to deflect multiple primary electron beams collectively to scan a substrate with the multiple primary electron beams; a potential application circuit configured to apply a retarding potential to the substrate; a first determination circuit configured to determine a first phase difference of deflection directions for the plurality of first electrostatic deflectors so as to reduce aberration caused by deflection of the multiple primary electron beams according to a magnitude of the retarding potential; and a deflection control circuit configured to apply an individual potential according to the first phase difference of the deflection directions to each electrode of the plurality of first electrostatic deflectors.

公开(公告)号：US20230088951A1

公开(公告)日：2023-03-23

申请号：US18051196

申请日：2022-10-31

Applicant: NuFlare Technology, Inc.

Inventor： Masataka SHIRATSUCHI ,  Chosaku NODA ,  Tadayuki SUGIMORI

IPC: H01J37/22 ,  H01J37/147 ,  H01J37/28

Abstract: A pattern inspection apparatus includes a secondary electron image acquisition mechanism to include a deflector deflecting multiple primary electron beams and a detector detecting multiple secondary electron beams, and acquire a secondary electron image corresponding to each of the multiple primary electron beams by scanning a target object with a pattern thereon with the multiple primary electron beams by the deflector, and detecting the multiple secondary electron beams from the target object by the detector, a storage device to store individual correction kernels each generated for individually adjusting a secondary electron image corresponding to each primary electron beam concerning a reference pattern to be commensurate with a reference blurred image, and a correction circuit to correct, by correspondingly using the individual correction kernel, the secondary electron image corresponding to each primary electron beam acquired from the inspection target object.

公开(公告)号：US20200161082A1

公开(公告)日：2020-05-21

申请号：US16601901

申请日：2019-10-15

Applicant: NuFlare Technology, Inc.

Inventor： Hiromu INOUE ,  Ryoichi HIRANO ,  Masataka SHIRATSUCHI ,  Riki OGAWA

IPC: H01J37/22 ,  H01J37/244 ,  H01J37/28

Abstract: According to one aspect of the present invention, a multiple electron beam inspection apparatus includes a reference image generation circuit generating reference images corresponding to the secondary electron images, in accordance with an image generation characteristic of a secondary electron image by irradiation of one beam; and a correction circuit generating corrected reference images in which, on the basis of deviation information between a figure pattern of the secondary electron image by irradiation of the one beam of the multiple primary electron beams and a figure pattern of a secondary electron image by irradiation of another beam different from the one beam of the multiple primary electron beams, a shape of a figure pattern of a reference image corresponding to the figure pattern of the secondary electron image by the irradiation of the another beam in the reference images is corrected.

公开(公告)号：US20190066286A1

公开(公告)日：2019-02-28

申请号：US16104191

申请日：2018-08-17

Applicant: NuFlare Technology, Inc.

Inventor： Masataka SHIRATSUCHI ,  Riki OGAWA ,  Hideaki HASHIMOTO ,  Kazuhiro NAKASHIMA ,  Ryoichi HIRANO ,  Hideo TSUCHIYA ,  Chosaku NODA

IPC: G06T7/00 ,  G06T5/00

Abstract: According to one aspect of the present invention, a pattern inspection apparatus includes: a first sub-pixel interpolation processing circuitry configured to calculate a pixel value of a reference image corresponding to a position of each pixel of the inspection target image by performing an interpolation process using at least one pixel value of the reference image for each shift amount while variably and relatively shifting the inspection target image and the reference image by the unit of a sub-pixel using the reference image corresponding to the inspection target image; and an SSD calculation processing circuitry configured to calculate a sum of squared difference between each pixel value of the inspection target image and a corresponding pixel value of the reference image subjected to a filter process for the each shift amount.