DEFECT INSPECTION METHODS THAT INCLUDE ACQUIRING AERIAL IMAGES OF A RETICLE FOR DIFFERENT LITHOGRAPHIC PROCESS VARIABLES

• Main Authors: VON DEN HOFF, MIKE, PETERSON, INGRID, B, WILEY, JIM
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French
• Published: 29.07.2004
• Edition: 7
• Subjects: APPARATUS SPECIALLY ADAPTED THEREFOR; BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; CALCULATING; CINEMATOGRAPHY; COMPUTING; COUNTING; ELECTRIC SOLID STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; ELECTROGRAPHY; HANDLING RECORD CARRIERS; HOLOGRAPHY; MATERIALS THEREFOR; ORIGINALS THEREFOR; PHOTOGRAPHY; PHOTOMECHANICAL PRODUCTION OF TEXTURED OR PATTERNED SURFACES,e.g. FOR PRINTING, FOR PROCESSING OF SEMICONDUCTORDEVICES; PHYSICS; PRESENTATION OF DATA; RECOGNITION OF DATA; RECORD CARRIERS; SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

Methods that include acquiring aerial images of a reticle for different values of a member of a set of lithographic variables are provided. One method also includes determining a presence of an anomaly in a design pattern of the reticle by comparing at least one pair of the aerial images correspondi...