1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inspection condition setting programs that are executed by inspection devices or inspection systems for products such as semiconductor integrated circuits.
2. Description of the Related Art
The related art is described below using manufacture of semiconductor integrated circuits as an example. The manufacturing processes for integrated circuits are typically divided into wafer patterning processes and packaging processes. In wafer patterning processes, chips are manufactured with formation of multiple layers, such as circuit and interconnection pattern layers, usually on a silicon wafer. In packaging processes, the chips are separated and packaged.
In the wafer pattering processes, disconnections or short-circuits of the circuit patterns may arise because of such defects as particles or deformed patterns generated during manufacture. Un-patterned or patterned wafer inspection devices are employed to monitor defects. An un-patterned wafer inspection device directs a laser beam onto the wafer in inclined fashion from above and the scattered light is detected. The device is sometimes referred to as a “dark field” inspection device. A patterned wafer inspection device detects abnormal locations by picking up images of the circuit patterns and performing image processing thereon. Patterned wafer inspection devices are categorized into “bright field” inspection devices or SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope) inspection devices depending on the detector employed. The article “Inspection System Supporting Improved Semiconductor Yields” in the October 1999 issue of the Hitachi Journal describes these devices. However, there is no clear distinction between the un-patterned and patterned wafer inspection devices except the principle of inspection. In the present application, both devices are referred to generally as defect inspection devices.
Defect inspection devices play an important role in high-sensitivity detection of defects on circuit patterns formed on wafers. To make full use of the defect inspection device, it is necessary to set suitable inspection conditions in accordance with the method of deposition onto the wafer and the method of formation of the circuit patterns. Typically, a defect inspection device requires inspection conditions set beforehand to execute inspection programs. Two of the conditions to be set are circuit pattern conditions and optical/image processing conditions.
The circuit pattern conditions include parameters such as the size of the chips that are formed on the wafer, the arrangement information and region information within the inspection algorithm can be changed accordingly. In addition, the optical/image processing conditions determine the inspection sensitivity and include parameters such as the amount of laser illumination that depends on deposition conditions and the wiring material, the contrast condition of images picked up by the detectors, and threshold values in image processing etc. The circuit pattern conditions and optical/image processing conditions are interrelated.
In the circuit pattern conditions, parameters such as size and arrangement of the chips formed on the wafer are the same parameters used in exposure conditions. Since the inspection algorithms can be changed depending on the circuit pattern of the integrated circuit, regions within a chip need to be set for executing the respective algorithms. The inspection algorithms include, for example, chip comparison methods (also called die comparison methods), cell comparison methods and mixed comparisons methods combining chip comparison and cell comparison. Japanese Patent No. 3187827 discloses these methods. Note that in some cases detection sensitivity can be increased by excluding some regions from the defect inspection area. The regions to be excluded are, for example, a region in which no circuit pattern is present, such as the region between one chip and another on the wafer (called the “scribe lines”), or the region between one circuit block and another in a chip. In setting the circuit pattern conditions, such regions are registered as non-inspection regions.
Conventionally, circuit pattern conditions, except the parameters of the size and the arrangement of chips on the wafer, must be determined while observing the surface of the real wafer. To observe the surface of the real wafer, the wafer must be set into the defect inspection device and moved with an XY stage that holds the wafer.
The present invention provides a program whereby the circuit pattern conditions of the defect inspection device can be set rapidly and with high precision. Conventionally, the operator sets up the conditions by mounting an actual wafer in the defect inspection device; the following problems are therefore experienced. (1) Considerable time is taken to set the inspection conditions. In particular, in a production line in which a large number of different types of products were produced in small quantities, the task of setting the inspection conditions must be performed frequently. (2) Differences between operators can affect inspection conditions. In setting non-inspection regions or cell comparison regions using actual wafers, differences between individuals may result in inappropriate inspection conditions being set.
The present invention provides a program to set the circuit pattern conditions of a defect inspection device rapidly and with high precision using circuit layout data prepared by a CAD (Computer Aided Design) system. The program, according to the invention, may be an embodiment in which the program is stored in a secondary storage device of the defect inspection device and read and executed by a primary storage device of the defect inspection device, or an embodiment in which the program is stored in a secondary storage device of another computer separate from the defect inspection device and read and executed by this primary storage device, the output file being utilized by downloading the file to defect inspection devices through a network or removable storage medium.
Specifically, according to the present invention, in a program executed to set inspection conditions of an inspection device that detects the positions of particles and deformed patterns present in the subject of inspection, an inspection condition setting program is provided whereby there is executed circuit layout reading processing in which layout data of a circuit formed on the subject of inspection is read; repeated pattern region coordinate extraction processing in which the coordinates of repeated pattern regions in the circuit layout are extracted from circuit layout data read by this reading processing; and inspection region registration processing in which the coordinates of repeated pattern regions extracted by this extraction processing are registered as inspection regions of the inspection device.
An embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to the drawings.
In step 13, circuit layout data of an integrated circuit corresponding to the product type code is read. The circuit layout data is, for example, the data that is provided for forming the integrated circuits on the wafer by using exposure devices. An integrated circuit has a multilayer structure formed by a plurality of exposures. The circuit layout data therefore includes data for a plurality of layers. In step 14, the coordinates of repeated pattern regions present in the circuit layout data are extracted. Repeated pattern regions are regions in which a large number of transistors of the same shape, contact holes of the same shape, capacitors of the same shape or wiring of the same shape, etc., are provided in matrix fashion. Typical examples are static random access memory sections, flash memory sections, dynamic random access memory sections or read-only memory sections in an integrated circuit chip.
In step 15, the coordinates of sparse regions are extracted. Sparse regions are regions in which the circuit patterns are not densely integrated, such as scribe line regions between one chip and another or the regions between one circuit block and another within a chip where, even if particles or small scratches are produced, there is minimal effect on the viability of the integrated circuits. They are usually designated as non-inspection regions. In step 16, the circuit pattern conditions are registered using the information input or extracted in steps 11 to 15.
Element 41 is a wafer map display button. Elements 51 and 52 (described below) are drawn by clicking this button with the mouse after inputting product type code 21, chip pitch in the transverse direction 24, chip pitch in the longitudinal direction 25, number of chip rows 26 and number of chip columns 27. Element 51 displays the outer periphery of the wafer and element 52 displays a chip as a single rectangle. In this example the number of chip rows is input as “6” and the number of chip columns is input as “6”. The chip arrangement is determined by a change of color 53, by using the mouse to click on chips that are not actually formed or chips that, although formed, are not designated as subjects of inspection. Processing up to this point is that of steps 11 and 12 of FIG. 1. Element 42 is a display button for the circuit layout within a chip. By clicking button 42 with the mouse, the circuit layout data corresponding to the product type code is read and drawn. The circuit layout data prepared by the CAD system is information relating to a single chip and does not include information regarding the scribe lines between the chips. The circuit layout is therefore drawn from the ratios of the values of chip size in the transverse direction 22, chip size in the longitudinal direction 23, chip pitch in the transverse direction 24 and chip pitch in the longitudinal direction 25. Element 71 is the outer frame of the chip pitch and element 72 is the outer frame of a chip. The circuit layout is drawn such that the respective bottom left-hand ends of the outer frame 71 of the chip pitch and the outer frame 72 of the chip coincide. Elements 61 to 65 are examples in which a circuit block within the chip is drawn from the circuit layout data. These examples include, SRAM circuit blocks 61 and 62, a CPU circuit block 63, a ROM circuit block 64, and a logic circuit block 65. The respective circuit blocks are basically independently formed at the stage where the transistors are formed and are connected at the stage where the wiring is formed. The circuit layout data includes information about a plurality of layers. The layer that is displayed can be altered using a plurality of buttons 81.
The coordinates of non-inspection regions are automatically extracted from the circuit layout data by using the mouse to click on an execute button for processing to automatically extract the coordinates of non-inspection regions 31. In this example, scribe line region 73 between outer frame 71 of the chip pitch and outer frame 72 of the chip size is automatically extracted. Scribe line region 73 is an area where the circuit pattern is sparse. Then, a region within the chip, indicated by shading, is automatically extracted. The region, which does not belong to any of the SRAM circuit blocks 61 and 62 or CPU circuit block 63, ROM circuit block 64 or logic circuit block 65, is a region where the circuit pattern is sparse. Elements 66 and 67 are areas that are extracted as sparse regions within a circuit block (the method of extraction is described later). Regions that are extracted as non-inspection regions are displayed in a different color.
After execution of the above automatic extraction processing, the setting on the screen can be altered by using the mouse to click button 33 to change to the mode for manually altering the coordinates of a non-inspection regions. For example, regions that were automatically extracted as non-inspection regions owing to their circuit pattern being sparse can be changed to inspection regions. Regions that were not automatically designated as non-inspection regions owing to their circuit patterns being dense can be changed to non-inspection regions.
The coordinates of repeated pattern regions are automatically extracted by using a mouse to click on execute button 32 for automatically extracting the coordinates of repeated pattern regions. The repeated pattern regions are calculated and set for each layer. The repeated pattern regions for each layer are displayed in a different color. The layer that is displayed is changed using a plurality of buttons 81. The coordinates of the repeated pattern regions that are thus extracted are used as the coordinates for executing cell comparison processing.
After execution of the above automatic extraction processing, the setting on the screen can be changed by using a mouse to click on button 34 for changing to a mode for manually altering the coordinates of repeated pattern regions. In this way, a region that was automatically extracted as a repeated pattern region can be changed to a different pattern region.
By using the mouse to click button 82, the product type code, chip size, chip pitch, arrangement information, repeated pattern region coordinates and sparse region coordinates, are registered as circuit pattern conditions of the inspection conditions. This is step 16 of FIG. 1. In this embodiment, in which the program of the present invention is stored in a secondary storage device of the defect inspection device and is read into a primary storage device of the defect inspection device in order to be executed, these conditions are registered in the secondary storage device in the circuit pattern condition data format characteristic of the defect inspection device, by using a mouse to click button 82. Alternatively, in an embodiment in which the program is stored in a secondary storage device of another computer separate from the defect inspection device and is read into a primary storage device of the computer in order to be executed, these conditions are registered by XL (Extensible Markup Language) or SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) by using a mouse to click button 82. The circuit pattern conditions registered by XL or SOAP are downloaded through a network in accordance with the requirements of various types of defect inspection devices and converted into the circuit pattern condition data format characteristic of the defect inspection device being used, and registered in the secondary storage device of the defect inspection device. In this way, compatibility can be achieved by using XL or SOAP, and the registered circuit pattern conditions can be shared by defect inspection devices of different manufacturers.
Although, in this example, a case where short circuits were geometrically generated was illustrated, there is no restriction to this and a case of disconnections could also be calculated. In
where (p, q) indicates the coordinates of a divided region.
In step 140, if the value of TKR (p, q) calculated by (math 4) for each divided region is smaller than a predetermined threshold value, it is concluded that the circuit patterns constitutes sparse regions and the patterns are therefore designated non-examination regions. If the value is above the threshold value, the region is designated as an inspection region. As a result, on-chip inspection regions and non-inspection regions of the integrated circuits can be determined.
Although, in this example (math 4) was employed as step 139, there is no restriction to this and, for example, instead of (math 4), (math 5) could be employed. According to the present invention, when the circuit patterns are dense in a region in one or more layers, the region in question is designated an inspection region; when the circuit patterns are sparse in a region through all the layers, the region is designated anon-inspection regions.
TKR(p, q)=max(KR(1, p, q),KR(2, p, q),KR(3, p, q), . . . ,KR(L,p,q)) (5)
where max ( ) indicates a maximum value.
The example described above illustrates a method of registering circuit pattern conditions. The method has the following processes: the coordinates of repeated pattern regions are extracted from circuit layout data constituting the output of a CAD system, and the regions are designated as cell comparison regions in the inspection device; the coordinates of regions in which the circuit patterns are sparse are extracted and the regions are designated as non-inspection regions; scribe line regions at the chip periphery are designated as non-inspection regions. Setting of the cell comparison regions, setting of the inspection regions and setting of the non-inspection regions can be achieved by executing programs designed for each setting; or each program can be executed independently.
As described above, a program is provided that is executed for setting circuit pattern conditions efficiently and with high precision The conditions are required to inspect defects such as particles or deformed patterns using a defect inspection device such as a patterned or an unpatterned wafer inspection device. By executing the program according to the present invention, the setting of coordinates of repeated pattern regions or the coordinates of non-inspection regions, can be achieved faster and more precisely than by conventional methods.
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2002-107284 | Apr 2002 | JP | national |
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