U.S. patent application number 14/174651 was filed with the patent office on 2015-06-04 for multi-beam system for high throughput ebi.
This patent application is currently assigned to ICT Integrated Circuit Testing Gesellschaft fur Halbleiterpruftechnik GmbH. The applicant listed for this patent is ICT Integrated Circuit Testing Gesellschaft fur Halbleiterpruftechnik GmbH. Invention is credited to Benjamin John COOK, Jurgen FROSIEN, Dieter WINKLER.
Application Number | 20150155134 14/174651 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 49679436 |
Filed Date | 2015-06-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150155134 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
FROSIEN; Jurgen ; et
al. |
June 4, 2015 |
MULTI-BEAM SYSTEM FOR HIGH THROUGHPUT EBI
Abstract
A scanning charged particle beam device configured to image a
specimen is described. The scanning charged particle beam device
includes a source of charged particles, a condenser lens for
influencing the charged particles, an aperture plate having at
least two aperture openings to generate at least two primary
beamlets of charged particles, at least two deflectors, wherein the
at least two deflectors are multi-pole deflectors, a multi-pole
deflector with an order of poles of 8 or higher, an objective lens,
wherein the objective lens is a retarding field compound lens, a
beam separator configured to separate the at least two primary
beamlets from at least two signal beamlets, a beam bender, or a
deflector or a mirror configured to deflect the at least two signal
beamlets, wherein the beam bender is a hemispherical beam bender or
beam bender having at least two curved electrodes, and at least two
detector elements.
Inventors: |
FROSIEN; Jurgen;
(Riemerling, DE) ; WINKLER; Dieter; (Munich,
DE) ; COOK; Benjamin John; (Munich, DE) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
ICT Integrated Circuit Testing Gesellschaft fur
Halbleiterpruftechnik GmbH |
Heimstetten |
|
DE |
|
|
Assignee: |
ICT Integrated Circuit Testing
Gesellschaft fur Halbleiterpruftechnik GmbH
Heimstetten
DE
|
Family ID: |
49679436 |
Appl. No.: |
14/174651 |
Filed: |
February 6, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
250/310 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01J 37/09 20130101;
H01J 2237/0453 20130101; H01J 2237/21 20130101; H01J 2237/24592
20130101; H01J 2237/2817 20130101; H01J 2237/1205 20130101; H01J
37/1474 20130101; H01J 37/244 20130101; H01J 37/05 20130101; H01J
2237/0475 20130101; H01J 37/1472 20130101; H01J 37/28 20130101;
H01J 2237/2806 20130101; H01J 2237/2448 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H01J 37/28 20060101
H01J037/28; H01J 37/244 20060101 H01J037/244; H01J 37/147 20060101
H01J037/147 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 2, 2013 |
EP |
13195345.7 |
Claims
1. A scanning charged particle beam device configured to image a
specimen, comprising: a source of charged particles, a condenser
lens for influencing the charged particles; an aperture plate
having at least two aperture openings to generate at least two
primary beamlets of charged particles, at least two deflectors
configured to individually deflect the at least two primary
beamlets of charged particles so that each primary beamlet appears
to come from a different source, wherein the at least two
deflectors are multi-pole deflectors with an order of poles of 8 or
higher; a multi-pole deflector with an order of poles of 8 or
higher; an objective lens configured to focus the at least two
primary beamlets onto the specimen, wherein the objective lens is a
retarding field compound lens; a beam separator configured to
separate the at least two primary beamlets from at least two signal
beamlets; a beam bender, a deflector or mirror configured to
deflect the at least two signal beamlets, wherein the beam bender
is selected from the group consisting of: a hemispherical beam
bender and a beam bender having at least two curved electrodes; and
at least two detector elements configured to individually measure
the at least two signal beamlets.
2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the multi-pole
deflector is included in a scanning deflector system for scanning
the at least two primary beams of charged particles over the
specimen, wherein the scanning deflector system includes at least
one scanning deflector, and wherein the at least one scanning
deflector is the multi-pole deflector with an order of poles of 8
or higher.
3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the smallest distance
of any two aperture openings of the at least two aperture openings
is 70 .mu.m or higher.
4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the smallest distance
of any two primary beamlets of the at least two primary beamlets on
impingement of the specimen is 10 .mu.m or higher.
5. The device according to claim 4, wherein the smallest distance
of any two primary beamlets of the at least two primary beamlets on
impingement of the specimen is 40 .mu.m or higher.
6. The device according to claim 1, further comprising: a second
condenser lens.
7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the objective lens
focuses the source, a cross-over or a virtual source onto the
specimen.
8. The device according to claim 2, wherein the scanning deflector
system is a 2-stage scanning deflector system including the at
least one scanning deflector and a further scanning deflector.
9. The device according to claim 8, wherein the scanning deflector
system is an electrostatic scanning deflector system.
10. The device according to claim 1, wherein the at least two
deflectors are provided in a MEMS.
11. The device according to claim 1, wherein said aperture openings
in said aperture plate are arranged along at least one ring.
12. The device according to claim 11, wherein the aperture openings
are further arranged on essentially equidistant lines.
13. The device according to claim 1, wherein said apertures in said
aperture plate are arranged in a matrix of at least 3 rows.
14. The device according to claim 13, wherein said apertures in
said aperture plate are arranged in a matrix of at least 3 rows and
at least 3 columns.
15. The device according to claim 1, wherein the at least two
detector elements are arranged to measure the at least two signal
beamlets at a beam propagation direction having an angle with
respect to the primary beamlets of at least 30.degree..
16. The device according to claim 1, wherein the column comprises a
beam selector for selecting the number of charged particle beams
used to examine the specimen.
17. The device according to claim 1, wherein the number of aperture
openings is 5 or more.
18. An arrayed scanning charged particle beam device, comprising:
at least two scanning charged particle beam devices configured to
image a specimen, each scanning charged particle beam device
comprises: a source of charged particles, a condenser lens for
influencing the charged particles; an aperture plate having at
least two aperture openings to generate at least two primary
beamlets of charged particles, at least two deflectors configured
to individually deflect the at least two primary beamlets of
charged particles so that each primary beamlet appears to come from
a different source, wherein the at least two deflectors are
multi-pole deflectors with an order of poles of 8 or higher; a
multi-pole deflector with an order of poles of 8 or higher; an
objective lens configured to focus the at least two primary
beamlets onto the specimen, wherein the objective lens is a
retarding field compound lens; a beam separator configured to
separate the at least two primary beamlets from at least two signal
beamlets; a beam bender, a deflector or mirror configured to
deflect the at least two signal beamlets, wherein the beam bender
is selected from the group consisting of: a hemispherical beam
bender and a beam bender having at least two curved electrodes; and
at least two detector elements configured to individually measure
the at least two signal beamlets.
19. A arrayed scanning charged particle beam device configured to
image a specimen, comprising: at least five scanning charged
particle beam devices configured to image a specimen, each scanning
charged particle beam device comprises: a source of charged
particles, a condenser lens for influencing the charged particles;
an aperture plate having at least five aperture openings to
generate at least five primary beamlets of charged particles,
wherein the smallest distance of any two aperture openings of the
at least two aperture openings is 70 .mu.m or higher, at least five
deflectors configured to individually deflect the at least five
primary beamlets of charged particles so that each primary beamlet
appears to come from a different source, wherein the at least two
deflectors are multi-pole deflectors with an order of poles of 8 or
higher; a scanning deflector system for scanning the at least five
primary beams of charged particles over the specimen, wherein the
scanning deflector system includes at least one scanning deflector,
and wherein the at least one scanning deflector is a multi-pole
deflector with an order of poles of 8 or higher an objective lens
configured to focus the at least five primary beamlets onto the
specimen, wherein the objective lens is a retarding field compound
lens; a beam separator configured to separate the at least five
primary beamlets from at least five signal beamlets; a beam bender,
a deflector or mirror configured to deflect the at least five
signal beamlets, wherein the beam bender is selected from the group
consisting of: a hemispherical beam bender and a beam bender having
at least two curved electrodes; and at least five detector elements
configured to individually measure the at least five signal
beamlets.
20. The device according to claim 19, wherein the scanning
deflector system is a 2-stage scanning deflector system including
the at least one scanning deflector and a further scanning
deflector.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] Embodiments of the invention relate to charged particle beam
devices, for example, for inspection system applications, testing
system applications, defect review or critical dimensioning
applications or the like. It also relates to methods of operation
thereof. More particularly, embodiments relate to charged particle
beam devices being multi-beam systems for high throughput EBI.
Specifically, embodiments relate to a scanning charged particle
beam device and a method of electron beam inspection with a
scanning charged particle beam device.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Modern semiconductor technology is highly dependent on an
accurate control of the various processes used during the
production of integrated circuits. Accordingly, the wafers have to
be inspected repeatedly in order to localize problems as early as
possible. Furthermore, a mask or reticle should also be inspected
before its actual use during wafer processing in order to make sure
that the mask accurately defines the desired pattern. This is done
because any defects in the mask pattern will be transferred to the
substrate (e.g., wafer) during its use in microlithography.
However, the inspection of wafers or masks for defects requires the
examination of the whole wafer or mask area. Especially, the
inspection of wafers during their fabrication requires the
examination of the whole wafer area in such a short time that
production throughput is not limited by the inspection process.
[0003] Scanning electron microscopes (SEM) have been used to
inspect wafers to detect pattern defects. Thereby, the surface of
the wafer is scanned using e.g. a single finely focused electron
beam. When the electron beam hits the wafer, secondary electrons
and/or backscattered electrons, i.e. signal electrons, are
generated and measured. A pattern defect at a location on the wafer
is detected by comparing an intensity signal of the secondary
electrons to, for example, a reference signal corresponding to the
same location on the pattern. However, because of the increasing
demands for higher resolutions, a long time is required to scan the
entire surface of the wafer. Accordingly, it is difficult to use a
conventional (single-beam) Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) for
wafer inspection, since this approach does not provide the required
throughput.
[0004] Wafer and mask defect inspection in semiconductor technology
needs high resolution and fast inspection tools, which cover both
full wafer/mask application or hot spot inspection. A hot spot
inspection refers to an imaging application, wherein only imaging
of sensitive areas, which have increased defect potential, is
conducted. Presently light optical inspection tools are widely
spread for those applications. However, electron beam inspection
gains increasing importance because of the limited resolution of
light optical tools, which cannot follow the requirements coming
along with shrinking defect sizes. In particular, from the 20 nm
node and beyond, the high-resolution potential of electron beam
based imaging tools become more important to detect all defects of
interest. In particular, topographic defects are of special
interest and importance.
[0005] One drawback of e-beam based optics, e.g. SEM based systems,
is the limited probe current within the focused spot. With
increasing resolution (decreasing spot size), probe current is
further decreasing because of a reduced aperture angle required to
control the lens aberrations. Higher brightness sources can provide
only limited improvements for the probe current (probe current
density) because of the electron-electron interaction. The
electron-electron interaction blurs the focused spot and increases
the energy width, which again increases the probe diameter, e.g. by
introduction of further chromatic aberrations. Consequently, many
approaches have been made to reduce e-e interaction in electron
beam systems, which are, for example, reduced column length and/or
higher column energy combined with late deceleration of the
electron beam to the final landing energy just in front of the
sample.
[0006] Many previous designs gave significant improvements.
However, these improvements are still not sufficient to provide a
reasonable inspection time for 300 mm diameter wafers. For example,
the inspection time should be below 1 hour. Additionally each
reduction in defect size by a factor of 2 also requires a spot size
reduction by a factor of 2. This results in an increase of pixel
numbers by a factor of 4. Such an increase in pixel count reduces
the throughput by at least a factor of 4, which is even further
reduced by the fact that a smaller electron probe results in a
reduced spot current due to a smaller aperture angle, which is
required by the aberrations of the lenses involved.
[0007] One approach to solve such problems is the use of multiple
beams within one column, which reduces the throughput by the number
of beams. In order to perform this task using electron microscopic
techniques several approaches have been suggested. One approach is
based on the miniaturization of SEMs, so that several miniaturized
SEMs (in the order of ten to one hundred) are arranged in an array
and each miniaturized SEM examines a small portion of the complete
sample surface.
[0008] Electron beam lithography faces similar throughput
limitation to get reasonable writing times. Electron beam
lithography also considers multi-beam approaches. However, e-beam
lithography applications cannot be implemented for e-beam
inspection in light of different boundary conditions, which avoid
problems occurring for e-beam inspection. For electron beam
lithography, the beam energy is higher as compared to inspection
(lithography 50 keV-100 keV, inspection typically 100 eV-5 keV).
The higher beam energy reduces the impact of e-e interaction.
Additionally, no detection is needed from the surface images
produced by the individual beams. For example, multi-beam electron
projection/lithography systems are used to create patterns of
variable shape on a substrate by switching on and off individual
beams. However, beyond the different boundary conditions mentioned
above, there are also differences in the devices. For example, an
aperture or aperture array is focused on the sample, on which the
pattern is generated.
[0009] Accordingly, there is a need for an imaging charged particle
beam device which provides a sufficient resolution and which is
able to increase the data collection to such an extent that the
device can also be applied to high speed wafer inspection.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0010] In light of the above, a charged particle beam device and a
method of imaging a specimen or wafer are provided. Further
aspects, advantages, and features of the present invention are
apparent from the dependent claims, the description, and the
accompanying drawings.
[0011] According to one embodiment, a scanning charged particle
beam device configured to image a specimen is provided. The
scanning charged particle beam device includes a source of charged
particles, a condenser lens for influencing the charged particles,
an aperture plate having at least two aperture openings to generate
at least two primary beamlets of charged particles, at least two
deflectors configured to individually deflect the at least two
primary beamlets of charged particles so that each primary beamlet
appears to come from a different source, wherein the at least two
deflectors are multi-pole deflectors with an order of poles of 8 or
higher, a multi-pole deflector with an order of poles of 8 or
higher, an objective lens configured to focus the at least two
primary beamlets onto the specimen, wherein the objective lens is a
retarding field compound lens, a beam separator configured to
separate the at least two primary beamlets from at least two signal
beamlets, a beam bender, or a deflector or a mirror configured to
deflect the at least two signal beamlets, wherein the beam bender
is selected from the group consisting of: a hemispherical beam
bender and a beam bender having at least two curved electrodes, and
at least two detector elements configured to individually measure
the at least two signal beamlets.
[0012] According to another embodiment, an arrayed scanning charged
particle beam device is provided. The device includes at least two
scanning charged particle beam devices, for example at least 5
scanning charged particle beam devices, or even at least 10
scanning charged particle beam devices. Each of the scanning
charged particle beam devices includes a source of charged
particles, a condenser lens for influencing the charged particles,
an aperture plate having at least two aperture openings to generate
at least two primary beamlets of charged particles, at least two
deflectors configured to individually deflect the at least two
primary beamlets of charged particles so that each primary beamlet
appears to come from a different source, wherein the at least two
deflectors are multi-pole deflectors with an order of poles of 8 or
higher, a multi-pole deflector with an order of poles of 8 or
higher, an objective lens configured to focus the at least two
primary beamlets onto the specimen, wherein the objective lens is a
retarding field compound lens, a beam separator configured to
separate the at least two primary beamlets from at least two signal
beamlets, a beam bender, or a deflector or a mirror configured to
deflect the at least two signal beamlets, wherein the beam bender
is selected from the group consisting of: a hemispherical beam
bender and a beam bender having at least two curved electrodes, and
at least two detector elements configured to individually measure
the at least two signal beamlets.
[0013] Embodiments are also directed methods by which the described
apparatus operates. It includes method steps for carrying out every
function of the apparatus. These method steps may be performed by
way of hardware components, a computer programmed by appropriate
software, by any combination of the two or in any other manner.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] So that the manner in which the above recited features of
the present invention can be understood in detail, a more
particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above,
may be had by reference to embodiments. The accompanying drawings
relate to embodiments of the invention and are described in the
following:
[0015] FIGS. 1A and 1B show schematically a column according to one
embodiment according to the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 2 shows a schematic view of source multiplication with
an aperture plate and individual deflectors according to
embodiments described herein;
[0017] FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of an aperture plate having a
plurality of aperture openings according to an embodiment of the
invention, which can be used in other embodiments described
herein;
[0018] FIG. 4 shows a schematic view of a charged particle beam
device having an aperture plate, individual deflectors and a
scanning deflector according to embodiments described herein;
[0019] FIGS. 5A and 5B show schematic views of a further aperture
plate and individual deflectors according to embodiments described
herein;
[0020] FIGS. 6A and 6B show schematic views of beam benders, which
can be used in embodiments described herein;
[0021] FIG. 7 shows a schematic view of another charged particle
beam device having an aperture plate, individual deflectors, and a
scanning deflector assembly according to embodiments described
herein;
[0022] FIG. 8 shows a schematic view of a portion of the objective
lens which can be used in embodiments described herein;
[0023] FIG. 9 shows a schematic view of yet another charged
particle beam device having an aperture plate, individual
deflectors, a scanning deflector assembly, and a condenser lens
according to embodiments described herein;
[0024] FIGS. 10A and 10B, show schematic views of beam separators
according to embodiments described herein;
[0025] FIGS. 11A and 11B, show schematic views of beam separators
according to embodiments described herein;
[0026] FIGS. 12 A and 12 B show schematic views of arrangements of
an aperture plate, individual deflectors and a condenser lens;
[0027] FIGS. 13 A and 13 B show schematic views of arrangements of
an aperture plate, individual deflectors and a condenser lens or
condenser lenses, respectively; and
[0028] FIG. 14 shows a schematic view of yet another charged
particle beam device according to embodiments described herein.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0029] Reference will now be made in detail to the various
embodiments of the invention, one or more examples of which are
illustrated in the figures. Within the following description of the
drawings, the same reference numbers refer to same components.
Generally, only the differences with respect to individual
embodiments are described. Each example is provided by way of
explanation of the invention and is not meant as a limitation of
the invention. Further, features illustrated or described as part
of one embodiment can be used on or in conjunction with other
embodiments to yield yet a further embodiment. It is intended that
the description includes such modifications and variations.
[0030] Without limiting the scope of protection of the present
application, in the following the charged particle beam device or
components thereof will exemplarily be referred to as a charged
particle beam device including the detection of secondary
electrons. Embodiments of the present invention can still be
applied for apparatuses and components detecting corpuscles, such
as secondary and/or backscattered charged particles in the form of
electrons or ions, photons, X-rays or other signals in order to
obtain a specimen image. Generally, when referring to corpuscles
they are to be understood as light signals in which the corpuscles
are photons as well as particles, in which the corpuscles are ions,
atoms, electrons or other particles. As described herein,
discussions and descriptions relating to the detection are
exemplarily described with respect to electrons in scanning
electron microscopes. However, other types of charged particles,
e.g. positive ions, could be detected by the device in a variety of
different instruments.
[0031] According to embodiments herein, which can be combined with
other embodiments, a signal beam is referred to a beam of secondary
particles or a secondary beam, i.e. secondary and/or backscattered
particles. Typically, the signal beam or secondary beam is
generated by the impingement of the primary beam on a specimen. A
primary beam is generated by a charged particle beam source and is
guided and deflected on a specimen to be inspected or imaged.
[0032] A "specimen" as referred to herein, includes, but is not
limited to, semiconductor wafers, semiconductor workpieces,
photolithographic masks and other workpieces such as memory disks
and the like. Embodiments of the invention may be applied to any
workpiece on which material is deposited or which is structured. A
specimen includes a surface to be structured or on which layers are
deposited, an edge, and typically a bevel. According to some
embodiments, which can be combined with other embodiments described
herein, the apparatus and methods are configured for or are applied
for electron beam inspection, for critical dimensioning
applications and defect review applications.
[0033] An embodiment according to the invention is shown
schematically in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The column 1 for a charged
particle beam device comprises a charged particle source 2, which
emits a beam 14 of charged particles. The charged particles are
accelerated by an accelerating voltage supplied to the charged
particle source 2.
[0034] As described herein, a cold field emitter (CFE), a Schottky
emitter, a TFE or another high current e-beam source is provided,
e.g. to increase the throughput. Thereby, a high current is
considered to be 10 .mu.A in 100 mrad or above, for example up to 5
mA, e.g. 30 .mu.A in 100 mrad to 1 mA in 100 mrad, such as about
300 to in 100 mrad. According to typical implementations, the
current is distributed essentially uniform, e.g. with a deviation
of +-10%, particularly in the case of a linear or rectangular
array. According to some embodiments, which can be combined with
other embodiments described herein, the source or virtual source
can have a diameter of 2 nm to 40 nm and/or have a typical emission
half angle of 5 mrad or above, e.g. 50 mrad to 200 mrad.
[0035] According to yet further embodiments, which can be combined
with other embodiments described herein, a TFE or another high
reduced-brightness source, e.g. an e-beam source, capable of
providing a large beam current is a source where the brightness
does not fall by more than 20% of the maximum value when the
emission angle is increased to provide a maximum of 10 .mu.A-100
.mu.A, for example 30 .mu.A.
[0036] Schottky or TFE emitters are currently available with a
measured reduced-brightness of 510.sup.7
Am.sup.-2(SR).sup.-1V.sup.-1, CFE emitters have a measured
reduced-brightness of up to 510.sup.9 Am.sup.-2(SR).sup.-1V.sup.-1.
The system may also work with a carbide emitter such as a HfC which
can have a reduced brightness of approximately 110.sup.11
Am.sup.-2(SR).sup.-1V.sup.-1. For example, a beam, which has at
least 510.sup.7 Am.sup.-2(SR).sup.-1V.sup.-1 is beneficial.
[0037] After leaving the charged particle source 2, the charged
particle beam 14 passes through an aperture plate 5 having multiple
aperture openings 5A-5E. The aperture openings can be situated
along a ring on the aperture plate 5 or along any other arrangement
such as a line, rectangle, or square. By passing through the
aperture plate 5, multiple charged particle beams 4A-4E are
created. Thereafter, deflectors 6A to 6E are provided to influence
the beams of charged particles 4A-4E so that each beam 4A-4E
appears to come from a different source.
[0038] Thereafter, the charged particle beams 4A-4E, i.e. the
primary charged particle beams or beamlets, pass a beam separator
assembly 13, which is configured to separate the primary beams for
secondary beams or backscattered beams, i.e. signal beams.
[0039] Thereafter, the charged particle beams 4A-4E, i.e. the
primary charged particle beams or beamlets, pass the scanning
deflector 12, which is, for example, used to move the charged
particle beams 4A-4E in a raster over the surface of the specimen
8. After the scanning deflector 12, the charged particle beams
4A-4E enter the objective lens 10 that focuses the charged particle
beams 4A-4E onto the specimen 8. The objective lens 10 not only
focuses the charged particle beams 4A-4E but also rotates the
charged particle beams 4A-4E. However, this effect is not shown
because it is difficult to depict in a two-dimensional drawing and
because the skilled person is well aware of this additional effect.
Due to the combined effects of the deflectors 6A-6E and the
objective lens 10, multiple spots (images of the particle source
2), each corresponding to one of the charged particle beams 4A-4E,
are created on the specimen 8.
[0040] When the particles of beams 4A-4E strike the surface of the
specimen 8, they undergo a series of complex interactions with the
nuclei and electrons of the atoms of the specimen. The interactions
produce a variety of secondary products, such as electrons of
different energy, X-rays, heat, and light. Many of these secondary
products are used to produce the images of the sample and to
collect additional data from it. A secondary product of major
importance to examination or the image formation of specimens are
secondary electrons that escape from the specimen 8 at a variety of
angles with relatively low energy (1 to 50 eV). The signal
electrons are extracted from the specimen through the objective
lens 10, are separated from the primary beams in the beam separator
assembly 13, and reach the detector assembly 9. The detector
assembly 9 includes detector elements 9A-9E, which are configured
for generation of a measurement signal, e.g. an electronic signal
corresponding to the detected signal electrons.
[0041] By scanning the charged particle beams 4A-4E over the
specimen and displaying/recording the output of the detector
assembly 9 or detector elements 9A-9E, multiple independent images
of the surface of the specimen 8 are generated. Each image contains
information about a different portion of the surface of the
specimen. Accordingly, the speed of the data acquisition is
increased by a factor 8 with regard to the conventional single beam
case. The specimen 8 is supported on a stage 7 (specimen support)
which is moveable horizontally in all directions, in order to allow
the charged particle beams 4A-4H to reach the target areas on the
specimen which are to be examined. The stage can also move in
1-direction while the beams are scanned in a second direction. This
will improve throughput further, since no stage settling time is
required.
[0042] In order to improve the performance of the system, the
embodiment shown in FIG. 1A contains an objective lens 10, which is
a combination of a magnetic lens and an electrostatic lens.
Accordingly, the objective lens 10 is a compound
magnetic-electrostatic lens. Preferably, the electrostatic part of
the compound magnetic-electrostatic lens 10 is an electrostatic
retarding lens. Using such a compound magnetic-electrostatic lens
10 yields superior resolution at low landing energies, such as a
few hundred electron volts in the case of a SEM. Such low landing
energies are desirable, especially in modern semiconductor
industry, to avoid charging and/or damaging of radiation sensitive
specimens. However, the benefits of the present invention are also
achieved if only a magnetic lens or only an electrostatic lens is
used.
[0043] According to embodiments described herein, a multi beamlet
column is provided with a number of beams, such as 2 or more or 5
or more, preferably larger than 8 and, according to some examples
up to 200. The multi-beamlet column is configured such that it can
also be arrayed in a multi-column system. Arraying multiple columns
then provides an even higher number of probes, i.e. beamlets,
working on the same sample (e.g. a wafer or a mask).
[0044] According to embodiments described herein, the primary
electron beams and the secondary or signal electron beams are
separated; particularly the signal electron detection is conducted
off-axis, i.e. off-axis with respect to the optical axis defined by
the objective lens. Thereby, an efficient detection with negligible
crosstalk between the different signals and a small or no effect on
the primary beam performance can be provided. According to yet
further embodiments, which can be combined with other embodiments
described herein, the pitch of the primary beams or beamlets on the
sample is large enough that the pitch of the
signal-electron-beamlet is sufficient such that the signal electron
detection can be performed without or at least with neglectable
crosstalk. For example the pitch on the specimen, e.g. a wafer,
i.e. a minimal distance between two primary beams on the specimen,
can be 10 .mu.m or above, for example 40 .mu.m to 100 .mu.m.
Accordingly, embodiments provide a multi-beam device which
generates a reasonable number of primary electron beamlets within
one electron optical column, wherein crosstalk is reduced, and
which optionally provides the opportunity to array several of the
multi-beam devices, i.e. multiple of the columns. Accordingly, it
is further desired to have the option to array multi beamlet
columns in a multi-column module (MCM).
[0045] Further details of embodiments described herein will now be
explained with respect to FIG. 2. An electron source 6C is
provided. For example, a cold field emitter, a TFE or a Schottky
emitter is provided. A multiplication of the source is provided by
a plurality of aperture openings, e.g. aperture openings 6A to 6C
shown in FIG. 2, in an aperture plate 5 followed by individual
deflectors, e.g. deflectors 6A to 6C shown in FIG. 2. The control
of individual deflectors results in individual beam paths and beam
correction options. Embodiments according to the invention provide
the advantage that an optimized single beam column can be expanded
into a multi-beam optics without major changes of the column.
Particularly, the column length does not need to be extended.
According to embodiments described herein, which can be combined
with other embodiments described herein, the column length, i.e.
the length from the emitter tip to the specimen table, can be 100
mm to 450 mm.
[0046] The aperture plate 5 is illuminated by the electron source
6C directly or via a condenser lens 220. In particular a
homogeneous emission area of a TFE source can be used which has an
half-angle of 10.degree. or below, e.g. of about 5.degree.. Behind
each aperture opening 5A-5C in the aperture plate 5, the individual
deflectors 6A to 6C are realized by multi-pole elements, which are
at least 4th order (quadrupole). According to some embodiments, the
multi-pole elements can be manufactured by conventional mechanical
machining. However, according to particular embodiments, which can
be combined with other embodiments described herein,
microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology deflector elements
can be beneficial, because this allows a higher multi-pole density
and eases the wiring of the electrodes.
[0047] According to some embodiments, it is preferred to provide an
octupole or even higher order element as deflector elements for
embodiments herein. Thereby, for example, each of these multi-poles
such as octupoles or even higher order multi-poles, has an
electrical supply, which can generate a lens function (common
voltage on all electrodes), a deflection function in the x- and
y-direction (electrical field in a plane vertical to the optical
axis) and a stigmatism function to control the astigmatism of each
beamlet (2 electrical quadrupoles rotated by 45.degree.).
Optionally an electrical hexapole can be provided either by an
additional supply on the octupole, or by the integration of a
higher order multi-pole (e.g. 12-pole). Such an arrangement
provides the following compensation options: a control of the field
curvature on the sample surface, a deflection of each beamlet to
penetrate through the center of the objective lens to avoid/reduce
coma or at least to pass the z-axis closely in front of the
objective lens to reduce coma, a slightly different z-axis crossing
can be achieved which smears the cross-over and reduces e-e
interaction by the individual deflection, a fine adjustment of the
deflection of each beam can be provided to be centered to the
optical axis of the objective lens which guarantees best
performance because it eliminates imperfections of the objective
lens, and an independent control/correction of astigmatism in each
beamlet (potentially also of hexapole) can be provided. An
individual beam blanking can be provided in the event that a beam
blanking aperture is provided within the beam path, e.g. in or near
the cross-over plane.
[0048] An embodiment according to the invention further provides a
multi-aperture plate with one or more of the following features.
Such a multi-aperture plate can be beneficially used in other
embodiments relating to charged particle beam columns, systems
including arrays of charged particle beam columns and methods of
operating charged particle beam columns. Typically, the design of
the multi-aperture plate has to follow different criteria and has
to be treated in the context of the overall electron optical ray
path design. The number of aperture openings is a compromise
between largest possible total current and optical performance, in
particular achievable spot size in the largest possible beamlet
field. Another boundary condition is the beamlet separation on the
sample, which is required to assure a signal beamlet separation on
the detectors, wherein crosstalk should be reduced or avoided.
According to typical embodiments, one dimensional (line) arrays or
2-dimensional arrays (e.g. 4.times.4, 3.times.3, 4.times.4,
5.times.5) or asymmetrical arrays e.g. 2.times.5 can be provided.
According to yet further embodiments, which can be combined with
other embodiments described herein, the grid configuration is
provided to allow for a complete coverage of the substrate surface
during a scan. This is not limited to a pure electron beam scan,
e.g. in the x-y-direction, but also includes a mixed scan operation
like beam scan, e.g. in a first direction, such as the x-direction,
and a stage movement in another direction different from the first
direction, such as the y-direction.
[0049] Exemplarily, FIG. 3A shows a five-beam-arrangement. Thereby,
the aperture openings 5A to 5D are located on a circle 35, which is
beneficial from the aspect of aberrations. Further, the aperture
openings 5A to 5E are located on lines 37. For example, an electron
beam scan can be conducted in the x-direction and a movement of the
specimen stage can be conducted in the y-direction. Thereby, the
distance of the lines 37 can be provided to correspond to the field
of view on the specimen, wherein two or more of the beamlets
generated based upon the aperture openings utilize the same, i.e.
the maximum, field of view. A full coverage of a scan area can be
provided while the aperture openings have the same distance from
the optical axis. The embodiment shown in FIG. 3 provides a beamlet
arrangement with a rotational symmetry, which is beneficial from
the aspect of aberrations. Further, each line 37 corresponds to one
aperture opening only, wherein the lines are typically equidistant.
According to some embodiments, the aperture openings are located on
a circle having a center at an optical axis, the aperture openings
are located on equidistant lines, and the aperture openings have a
maximized distance from each other when located on the circle and
the lines. Further, the aperture plate can be rotationally
symmetric. This principle shown in FIG. 3 with 5 aperture openings
can further be extended to 7, 9, 11, or 13 or another uneven number
of aperture openings.
[0050] FIG. 4 shows another charged particle beam device 100
illustrating embodiments described herein. The charged particle
beam device 100 has a column with a column housing 401. A charged
particle source 2, for example an electron beam source, such as a
field emitter, emits an electron beam. A condenser lens (not shown
in FIG. 4) can be included according to any of the embodiments
described herein. The charged particle beam passes through an
aperture plate 5 having a plurality of aperture openings. A
plurality of the deflectors are provided to influence the beamlets
having passed through the aperture openings. FIG. 4 shows
deflectors 6A, 6B, and 6C. The individual deflectors influence the
beamlets such that a plurality of virtual electron sources are
provided, i.e. the electrons of the beamlets appear to be emitted
from different locations in a plane of the charged particle beam
source perpendicular to the optical axis 4. In the example shown in
FIG. 4, an array of 3.times.5 sources (see schematic array 2') are
provided. Thereby, the center source corresponds to the charged
particle beam source 2. The other 14 sources are virtual sources
with an off-set in a plane perpendicular to the optical axis.
According to some embodiments, which can be combined with other
embodiments described herein, a beam separator, i.e. a separator
separating the primary beams from the signal beams, can be provided
by magnetic deflectors 413 and 414. The scanning deflector 12 scans
the beam over the surface of the specimen 8. The primary beamlets,
i.e. the plurality of beams, which appeared to be emitted from the
array 2', are focused on the specimen 8 by a common objective lens
10. Thereby, according to typical embodiments, which can be
combined with other typical embodiments described herein, all of
the primary beamlets pass through one opening in the objective lens
10. The specimen 8 is provided on the specimen stage 7, which can
move the specimen 8 in at least one direction perpendicular to the
optical axis 4.
[0051] According to some embodiments, which can be combined with
other embodiments described herein, the objective lens can be an
electrostatic magnetic component lens, particularly having an
electrostatic compound that reduces the energy within the column
from a high energy within the column to a lower landing energy.
Typically, the energy reduction from the column energy to the
landing energy is at least a factor of 10, for example at least a
factor of 30.
[0052] Further, a retarding field including a potential provided to
the specimen can be provided. According to yet further
implementations, which can be combined with other embodiments
described herein, a configuration, in which the column is at ground
potential and the charged particle source 2 and the specimen 8 are
at a high potential can be provided. Thereby most or all of the
column components can be provided at ground potential. Accordingly
control of deflectors, scanners, detectors, etc. as well as
charging of other components such as the aperture plate 5, can be
improved.
[0053] For example, the primary beamlets can travel through the
column at 20 keV or above, e.g. at 25 keV, even 30 keV, or even
higher energy. Thereby, exemplarily for a 25 keV beam energy, the
emitter or the emitter tip, respectively, can be at -25 kV and the
extractor or typically the anode and the column is at ground.
According to embodiments described herein, the column energy is
sometimes associated with the extractor potential and/or the anode
potential. In many applications, the extractor potential and the
anode potentials can be the same potential or the anode can even be
provided by the extractor. However, there are applications, where
the extractor and the anode are on different potentials. In such a
case, the column energy is typically determined by the anode
potential.
[0054] According to typical embodiments, which can be combined with
other embodiments described herein, the column can typically be at
ground potential or can be at least from -8 kV to +8 kV, typically
from -2 kV to +2 kV. Even though it can be understood by a person
skilled in the art, that the beam energy is based on relative
potentials, such that alternatively the emitter could be at ground
or any other value and the column voltage could be at +25 kV or a
corresponding other value for the above example having a beam
energy of 25 keV, having the column potential at ground or within a
limited range around ground can be considered beneficial for EBI
systems according to embodiments described herein. Beyond the
aspects relating to the energy of the primary electron beam and the
corresponding potentials of the electrostatic lens components,
wherein a retarding field lens is provided, other aspects are also
to be considered.
[0055] For good performance of the system, primary beam deflection
for alignment, primary beam deflection for scanning, and detection
of signal electrons, such as secondary electrons (SE) or
backscattered electrons, are additionally to be considered and
improved. Having the column potential at ground potential or at
least at a limited potential avoids having additional components
like alignment deflectors, scan deflectors and elements for SE
detection at a high potential or at least at very high potentials,
e.g. 25 kV, which is provided in addition to the control signals of
these components and elements. Providing these components at high
potentials would result in inferior control thereof and a resulting
inferior performance of the system.
[0056] According to typical embodiments described herein, the
column energy, i.e. the energy at which the electrons travel
through the column is above 20 keV, such as 25 keV or 30 keV.
However, according to yet further modifications, which can be
combined with other embodiments described herein, the column energy
can also be at even higher potentials such as 40 keV or above or
even 50 keV or above. Thereby, the landing energies on the wafer or
specimen are not increased, but instead the immersion factor is
increased, i.e. the electrons are decelerated more.
[0057] In the context of the here described embodiments, without
limiting the scope of protection thereto, an intermediate beam
acceleration system intends to describe a charged particle beam
apparatus with initial high acceleration of the charged particles
which will be decelerated to a landing energy shortly before
striking the specimen or wafer. The energy or velocity ratio
v.sub.acc/v.sub.landing between the acceleration velocity v.sub.acc
at which the charged particles are guided through the column and
the landing velocity v.sub.landing at which the charged particles
strike the specimen can be about at least 10 or higher, e.g. 20 or
higher. Furthermore, the landing energy can be 2 keV or less, e.g.
1 keV or less, such as 500 eV or even 100 eV.
[0058] As for example shown in FIG. 4, all primary beamlets are
scanned across the surface of the specimen 8 by a common scan
deflector 12. According to typical embodiments, which can be
combined with other embodiments described herein, this scanning
deflector 12 can be within the objective lens or close to the
objective lens. For example, the lower stage scanning deflector
should be within 5-times of the focal length of the objective lens
or less. The scan deflector 12 can also be a 2-stage deflector.
According to yet further embodiments, which can be combined with
other embodiments described herein, the scanning deflector 12 can
be an electrostatic and/or magnetic octupole. Thereby, the scan
deflector can be used not only for scanning but also for a global
astigmatism correction of the objective lens and a potential
contribution of a condenser lens if provided. Typically, in light
of a high throughput requirement, an electrostatic scan system is
beneficially provided. An octupole scan deflector can further
provide dynamic correction functions, typically all dynamic
correction functions, which are needed within the scan field, for
example, focus adjustment and astigmatism correction. The dynamic
scan field correction can be done commonly for the primary beamlets
because field curvature and coma correction can already be
corrected by the individual deflectors, e.g. deflectors 6A, 6B and
6C shown in FIG. 4.
[0059] Embodiments described herein allow a simple approach to
generate multiple electron beams, which can be arrayed and
optically improved according to the desired resolution
requirements. Particularly, a complex multi-lens array, i.e. an
area of Einzel lenses, can be avoided. Further, utilizing multiple
aperture arrays, which require a beam deceleration in the column to
generate an immediate spot grid array, can be avoided. The
individual deflectors, for example deflectors 6A, 6B and 6C shown
in FIG. 4, allow for individual influencing of each beamlet to
achieve improved optical probe performance of the electron beam
probes reaching the sample surface. Yet further, embodiments allow
for an improved and/or predetermined separation of the primary
beamlets, such that an effective separation of the primary beamlets
and the secondary beamlets allow for detection of the signal
electrons of each signal beam without significant cross-talk. Yet
further, the combination of individual deflectors and common
deflectors, wherein the individual deflectors and the common
deflectors are typically provided as octupoles or even higher order
multipoles, allow for a flat field of view during the scanning of
all beamlets. As described further below, one or more condenser
lenses can be integrated to adjust the overall probe current in the
electron optical beam device.
[0060] The charged particle beam device 100 shown in FIG. 4
includes a secondary electron optics according to yet further
embodiments described herein. Particles released from or
backscattered from the specimen form a secondary beam carrying
information about the specimen. Thereby, the information can
include information about the topography of the specimen, the
chemical constituents, the electrostatic potential, and others. In
order to inspect defects as fast as possible, the contrast needs to
be increased by using an increased amount of information. The
secondary beamlets are separated from the primary beamlets by means
of a beam separator 414 and enters a beam bender 423. The beam
separator can, for example, include at least one magnetic
deflector, a Wien filter, or any other means, wherein the electrons
are directed away from the primary beam, e.g. due to the velocity
depending Lorenz force.
[0061] The beam bender 423 deflects the secondary beamlets towards
a focusing lens 432. The focusing lens 432 focuses secondary
beamlets on a detector element, e.g. detector element 9A, e.g. a
sensor (scintillator, pin diode etc.) of a detector assembly 9. The
detection system according to embodiments illustrated, for example
with respect to FIG. 4, allows to focus the secondary particle
bundle on a detector for Bright Field (BF) imaging, to adapt the
size of the secondary particle bundle, or to adapt the size of the
secondary particle bundle to a segmented detector in order to
achieve angular resolution as described in more detail below.
According to embodiments, one or more deflectors 434, 436 (see also
438 in FIG. 7) are provided along the path of the secondary
beam.
[0062] According to an embodiment, a secondary charged particle
detection system for a charged particle beam device is provided.
The detection system includes a beam splitter for separating a
primary beam and a secondary beam formed upon impact on a specimen;
a beam bender for deflecting the secondary beam; a focusing lens
for focusing the secondary beam; a detection element for detecting
the secondary beam particles, and deflection elements. For example,
at least a first deflector is provided between the beam bender and
the focusing lens, at least a second deflector is provided between
the focusing lens and the detection element, at least a third
deflector is provided between the beam splitter and the beam
bender.
[0063] When scanning a large Field of View (FOV) with the primary
beam, the SE bundle starts moving accordingly and, in general, the
SE bundle is scanning across the sensor. For small sensors this may
lead to signal loss towards the edges of the FOV. In angular
filtering mode it may result in sensitivity variations across the
FOV. In energy filtering mode it may change the filtering threshold
across the FOV. To avoid these effects, a de-scanning (anti scan,
counter scan) signal needs to be applied to the SE bundle by the SE
optics according to embodiments described herein, where for example
three deflectors (see FIG. 7) are provided for improved SE signal
capturing.
[0064] According to embodiments described herein, the beam bender
423 includes at least two curved electrodes. For example, two
curved electrodes 424 and 425 are shown in FIG. 4. The curved
electrodes can be electrodes curved in one direction. According to
another embodiment, the beam bender can be a hemispherical beam
bender. The beam bender includes two approximately spherical and
approximately concentric electrodes creating a large angle
deflection field with approximately stigmatic focusing, if properly
excited by two voltages (V.sub.bend pos and V.sub.bend neg).
[0065] According to an embodiment, the beam bender voltages are set
such that the required total deflection angle, e.g. 90.degree., is
reached and the focusing is approximately stigmatic. Also other
bending angles are possible if mechanical boundary conditions
require different angles. Angles between 60.degree. and 120.degree.
can be beneficial. The beam bender typically focuses the first SE
crossover above the objective lens stigmatically into a second
crossover in front of the SE focus lens. This is a rough alignment
onto the optical axis of the SE focus lens after the secondary beam
exits the beam bender.
[0066] Another example of an aperture plate 25 having aperture
openings 25A-25E and a corresponding arrangement of deflectors
26A-26E is illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B. According to embodiments
described herein, an electron beam, after leaving a charged
particle source, e.g. charged particle source 2 in FIG. 4, passes
through the aperture plate 25 having e.g. five apertures 25A-25E.
By passing through the aperture plate 25, five charged particle
beams 4A are created. Thereafter, the deflectors 26A-26E are used
to influence the beams of charged particles so that each beam
appears to come from a different source. The deflectors 26A-26E
influence each of the beams individually which leads to a better
control of the properties of each individual beam
[0067] FIG. 5B shows schematically a top view on the deflectors
26A-26E as used e.g. in a column shown in FIG. 4. Thereby, each
deflector 26A-26E comprises eight electrodes. Each deflector
26A-26E generates static deflecting fields for correction of the
beam paths through the objective lens and for positioning the beams
at the specimen. Furthermore, the deflectors 26A-26E can be used
for compensation of the aberrations arising from a deviation of the
objective lens from the axial symmetry.
[0068] According to some embodiments, it is preferred to provide an
octupole or even higher order element as deflector elements for
embodiments herein. Thereby, for example, each of these multi-poles
such as octupoles or even higher order multi-poles, has an
electrical supply, which can generate a lens function (common
voltage on all electrodes), a deflection function in the x- and
y-direction (electrical field in a plane vertical to the optical
axis) and a stigmatism function to control the astigmatism of each
beamlet (2 electrical quadrupoles rotated by 45.degree.).
Optionally an electrical hexapole can be provided either by an
additional supply to the octupole, or by the integration of a
higher order multi-pole (e.g. 12-pole). Thereby, the
above-described advantages can be realized.
[0069] As shown in FIG. 5B, a controller 526 can be provided. The
controller includes a plurality of power supplies such that the
voltages on the electrodes can be controlled. The power supplies
can be either connected to electrical circuits for superimposing
various voltages, e.g. one common voltage provided to all
electrodes with one or more other voltages provided to two or more
electrodes in common, or power supplies are connected to each of
the electrodes and a software calculates the desired superimposed
voltages for each of the electrodes. That is the software
superimposes voltages desired for a lens function with voltages
desired for a deflection function and voltages desired for a
correction function, e.g. an aberration correction function, such
as a stigmation correction function, and applies the superimposed
voltage to each of the electrodes.
[0070] Further options to provide a beam bender for embodiments
described herein, will now be described with respect to FIGS. 6A
and 6B. FIG. 6A shows a sector 423. Sector 424 has a
negatively-charged U-bend 425 and a positively-charged U-bend 424
serving to bend the electron beam. Optionally, a pair of sector
side plates can be provided. Thereby, the electron beam is focused
in one dimension and, additionally, is kept at a high energy to
avoid time of flight effects which may have impact on high-speed
detection. A focusing in the second dimension takes place in
quadrupole element 445. Thereby, the sector 423 and the quadrupole
form a double-focusing sector unit. Further, it may be possible to
use a cylinder lens instead of a quadrupole to obtain double
focusing.
[0071] In the further embodiment of FIG. 6B, a hemispherical sector
470 is used. In view of the hemispheric shape, the electron beam
entering the sector is focused in both dimensions. Thus, no
additional focusing unit is required to provide a double-focusing
sector unit. According to a further embodiment (not shown) the
focusing of the double focusing sector unit (425, 445 in FIG. 6A or
470 in FIG. 6B) can be assisted with an additional focusing unit.
Thus, the double focusing sector unit may also include additional
lenses, for example an Einzel-lens.
[0072] Generally, an electrostatic beam bender can be either
cylindrical or hemispherical. The cylindrical type suffers from the
fact that as the beam is bent the secondary electrons are focused
in one plane and not in the other. A hemispherical beam bender
focuses the secondary beam in both planes. The cylindrical sector
can be used with side plates biased to achieve focusing in the
transverse plane, yielding to similar focusing properties to those
of the hemispherical sector.
[0073] According to yet further embodiments, which can be combined
with other embodiments described herein, a 2-stage scan deflection
arrangement can be provided. FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary
embodiment including a first scanning deflector 712 and a second
scanning deflector 12, wherein the second scan deflector
corresponds to the previously mentioned scanning deflector 12 shown
e.g. in FIGS. 1 and 4. A condenser lens (not shown in FIG. 7) can
be included according to any of the embodiments described herein.
According to typical embodiments, the first (upper) scanning
deflector 712 can be provided between the aperture plate and a
first beam separation element, e.g. magnet deflector 413 in FIG. 7.
However, it is also possible that the 1.sup.st stage, i.e. the
upper scanning deflector 712 is located further up in the beam
path, e.g. in a condenser lens, which is exemplarily shown in FIG.
9. For embodiments having a 2-stage scan deflection assembly, the
first (upper) deflector can be an electrostatic octupole, which not
only acts as a prescan deflector but also as a stigmator. Thereby,
the first scan deflector, e.g. scanning deflector 712 in FIG. 7,
corrects the global astigmatism of the condenser lens or the like.
2-stage scanning configurations have the advantage that the pivot
point of scanning can be aligned along the optical z-axis.
Accordingly, off-axis lens aberrations (in particular coma) within
the scan field can be minimized. This will result in a large field
of view of each beamlet scan field without or with only small spot
size degradation.
[0074] The one or more scanning deflectors are thereby configured
for high speed scanning, e.g. to achieve a pixel rate in the GHz
region (e.g. 3 GHz or above) and/or a line rate in the MHz region
(e.g. 3 MHz or above). Thus, the scanning deflectors can for
example be electrostatic deflectors. According to typical
embodiments, which can be combined with other embodiments, the
frequency of the control signal provided by the controller to the
deflector is 0.1 MHz to 10 MHz.
[0075] Another alternative or additional modification to yield yet
further embodiments is shown in FIG. 7. Thereby, a third deflector
438 is provided in the signal electron beam path. The third
deflector 438 is adapted to generate orthogonal deflection fields
with the ability to add a counter scan signal. The first deflector
434 is adapted to generate orthogonal dipole deflection fields. The
generation of higher order multi-poles in this element might not be
highly effective, since a SE-crossover is formed near the element.
However, it could also have a larger number of poles, e.g. 8,
because a potential correction can be conducted before the SE beams
enter the focusing lens 432. According to an embodiment, the second
deflector 436, i.e. the deflector provided between lens 432 and
detector assembly 9, generates orthogonal dipole fields for
alignment purposes, but can also produce a hexapole component if
the hexapole of the beam bender should be reduced.
[0076] According to yet further embodiments, which can be combined
with other embodiments described herein, an extraction field for
the signal electrons is provided above the specimen. For example,
the extraction field can be 0.5 kV/mm or above, such as about 1
kV/mm. The extraction field focuses the signal beamlets before they
mix with each other. Accordingly, cross-talk can be reduced by the
extraction field and a detector detects only the signal electrons
generated by one primary beamlet. As an additional or alternative
solution to reduce cross-talk, a small working distance of e.g. 0.2
mm to 2 mm can be provided, wherein a short focal length of the
objective lens 10 is provided. Yet, the working distance might be
more difficult to control as compared to the extraction field.
However, a combination of both improvements can be provided,
wherein the working distance is only slightly reduced to e.g. 0.5
mm or above. In order to provide an extraction field an additional
electrode, a so-called proxi-electrode, can be provided. Exemplary
embodiments will now be described with respect to FIG. 8.
[0077] According to embodiments described herein, the objective
lens for an electron beam system, i.e. the last lens before the
electron beam impinges on the specimen or wafer, includes a
combined electrostatic and magnetic lens. As shown in FIG. 8, the
objective lens 10 includes an electrostatic lens component and a
magnet lens component. The electrostatic lens component includes an
upper electrode 162, which lies on a high potential and a lower
electrode 166, which lies on a potential close to the sample
voltage and which decelerates the electrons for providing the
desired landing energy. These electrodes contribute to focusing, as
well as to slowing down the beam to the required low primary beam
voltage. Additionally, a middle electrode 164 and a control
electrode 170 for extracting the signal electrons, such as
secondary electrons (SE) or backscattered electrons, is provided.
Thereby, the desire to provide for a very low landing energy, e.g.
100 eV and a low extraction field, can be provided without
deteriorating overall performance of the electron beam imaging
system. Even though several electrodes, e.g. four electrodes can be
provided as shown in FIG. 8, according to typical embodiments, at
least an upper electrode 162, a lower electrode 166 and a control
electrode 170 for control of the extraction field, e.g. a
proxi-electrode, can be provided.
[0078] FIG. 8 shows a portion of a scanning electron microscope.
The objective lens 10 includes the magnetic lens component 60
having an upper pole piece 63, a lower pole piece 64 and a coil
(not shown in FIG. 1). The objective lens further includes an
electrostatic lens component 160 having a first electrode 162, i.e.
upper electrode in the figures, optionally a second (middle)
electrode 164, and a third electrode 166, i.e. the lower electrode
in the figures. Further, a control electrode 170 for control of the
signal electrons or the extraction field acting on the signal
electrons respectively is provided at a position along the optical
axis 4 from the position of the third electrode 166 to the specimen
stage 7 or the specimen 8 respectively.
[0079] It is to be understood that the third electrode 166 is
sometimes referred to as the proxi electrode or large proxi
electrode as it is the closest electrode of the electrostatic lens
component 160 to the specimen or the specimen stage. Further, the
control electrode for extracting the signal electrons from the
specimen is sometimes referred to as the small proxi as it is
typically the closest electrode of the electron beam imaging system
to the specimen or specimen stage. According to some embodiments,
the small proxi can be at the same distance from the specimen as
the large proxy. Typically, according to other embodiments, the
small proxi is closer to the specimen than the large proxi.
[0080] According to the embodiments described herein, it is
understood that the small proxi, i.e. the control electrode 170,
has a small influence on the properties of the electrostatic lens
component 160, yet is sufficiently small enough to be considered an
individual element with the functionality to control the extraction
of the SEs from the specimen or the guidance of SEs released from
the specimen.
[0081] The objective lens 60 focuses the electron beamlets, which
travel in the column along optical axis 4, on the specimen 8, i.e.
in a specimen plane. The specimen 8 is supported on a specimen
support table 7. According to some embodiments, which can be
combined with other embodiments described herein, the objective
lens can also be a magnetic lens and further a radial gap lens.
According to some embodiments, which can be combined with other
embodiments described herein, scanning of an area of the specimen
can be conducted by movement of the table in a first direction
essentially perpendicular to the optical axis and by scanning lines
in another, second direction essentially perpendicular to the
optical axis and essentially perpendicular to the first
direction.
[0082] As already schematically explained with respect to FIG. 1,
embodiments described herein, typically include a beam separator
for separating the primary beamlets from the path of the signal
electron beamlets. Accordingly, the signal beamlets can be detected
completely separated from and without interaction with the primary
beamlets. According to various embodiments, different options of
beam separation can be provided. A beam separator can be a 1-B
separator, i.e. a beam separator with one magnetic field as shown
in FIG. 10A. A beam separator can be a 2-B separator, i.e. a beam
separator with 2 magnetic fields as shown in FIG. 10B, a 2-B
separator with dispersion correction, a 2-B separator with a tilted
upper part of the column for dispersion correction, or any of the
above-mentioned 2-B separators having an additional signal electron
bender to increase the bending angle, e.g. to 45.degree. to
90.degree.. For example, as described with respect to FIGS. 6A and
6B, the electron beam bender can be a spherical, i.e. hemispherical
or cylindrical benders. Yet further, additionally or alternatively
mirror arrangements can be used to increase the bending angle of
the signal electron beamlets. According to yet further options, a
beam separator can include crossed electrostatic-magnetic fields
(see, e.g. FIGS. 11A and 11B), e.g. in a Wien Filter like
arrangement. Thereby, the electric and magnetic deflection fields
can be superimposed or arranged one after the other along the
optical axis 4. Specific examples are a Wien Filter configuration
with a straight primary beam (see, e.g. FIG. 11A), a deflected
secondary beam and an achromatic (or at least partial achromatic)
arrangement of crossed electrostatic-magnetic fields for either the
primary or the secondary beam. In these cases both primary and
secondary beams are deflected.
[0083] One method of separating the primary and secondary beamlets
is to use magnetic deflection without an electric field. FIG. 10B
shows schematically an arrangement of magnetic-beam separator
optics in accordance with embodiments described herein. Charged
particle source 2, e.g. an electron emitter, produces a
primary-electron beam, of which subsequently primary beamlets are
generated. The primary beamlets are first deflected by the first
magnetic deflector 413 such that primary-electron beamlets enters a
second magnetic deflector 414 at an angle. To keep the effect of
the magnetic beam separator on the primary beam small, the angle of
deflection in the first magnetic deflector 413 should be kept below
10 degrees. Primary-electron beamlets pass through the second
magnetic deflector 414 and are directed at specimen. Secondary
electrons of the beam are then deflected by the second magnetic
deflector 414 such that the total angle .alpha. of separation of
primary beamlets and secondary beamlets is roughly twice that of
the deflection of the primary beam in the first magnetic deflector
(e.g. 5 to 20 degrees). This separation is enough to allow a beam
bender to be mechanically isolated from the primary beamlets and to
be made strong enough to deflect secondary beamlets so that the
signal electrons are now traveling with a large angle that is
between 30.degree. and 100.degree., with respect to the primary
beamlets.
[0084] Another possible beam separator is the Wien filter. A Wien
filter arrangement in accordance with an embodiment of the
invention is shown schematically in FIG. 11A. The primary electron
beamlets pass through a Wien-type momentum-dispersive filter 215
and are focused by an objective lens on a sample specimen.
Secondary-electron beamlets pass through the objective lens and the
Wien-type filter 215 in a direction opposite to that of
primary-electron beamlets. The Wien filter can be adapted such that
the primary-electron beamlets 210 pass unaffected by Wien filter
215, while secondary-electron beamlets are bent as it passes
through Wien filter 215 so that it exits the column inclined with
respect to the primary-electron beamlets. A Wien filter uses
crossed electric and magnetic fields, the amplitudes of which are
adjusted so that there is zero net force on the primary beamlets
and a deflection (transverse) force on the secondary beamlets.
Generally, the Wien filters 215 shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B are
provided as follows. The electric and magnetic fields within the
Wien filter are adjusted such that in FIG. 11A the primary charged
particle beamlets are unaffected. Contrary thereto, within FIG.
11B, the electric and magnetic fields are adjusted such that the
secondary charged particle beamlets are unaffected. Nevertheless,
both embodiments utilize the separation of the primary and
secondary beam. According to a further option (not shown) it is
further possible that both beams are deflected to some degree,
whereby a beam separation is achieved.
[0085] FIG. 9 illustrates another charged particle beam device 100.
The charged particle beam device includes a column having the
column housing. A charged particle source 2 is provided within the
charged particle beam device. According to embodiments described
herein, one single charged particle source is provided. The
condenser lens 950 illuminates the aperture plate 5 with the
charged particle beam 14 such as an electron beam. The resulting
beamlets 4A, 4B, and 4C, are deflected by the deflectors 6A, 6B and
6C such that they appear to come from different sources. As shown
in FIG. 9, the electrons provided by the source appear to come from
the virtual source 902 due to the action of the condenser lens 950.
Further, there are sources 902' due to the combined action of the
deflectors 6A/B and the condenser lens 950.
[0086] According to different embodiments, which can be combined
with other embodiments described herein, the aperture plate 5
having the aperture openings and the deflectors 6A, 6B, and 6C can
be provided independently from each other or in a module, for
example an MEMS module. Typically, the deflectors 6A, 6B and 6C are
provided as octupole deflectors or even higher order deflectors.
Thereby, individual influencing and correction of the beamlets 4A,
4B and 4C can be provided.
[0087] Particularly, according to embodiments described herein, the
individual deflectors 6A, 6B and 6C can be operated to direct each
of the beamlets through the coma free point of the objective lens.
The respective plane is indicated by reference numeral 404. In the
detection path, as exemplarily shown in FIG. 9, after beam
separation of the secondary beamlets from the primary beamlets, the
secondary beamlets can be directed on independent detector elements
9A, 9B, and 9C, for example pin diodes or scintillators, etc., for
image generation. Yet further, it is also possible to use a
segmented detector or an arrayed detector to provide individual
detection of the signal beamlets.
[0088] Similarly to the path of the primary beamlets, the secondary
beamlet beam path may also include global and/or individual
components to improve or optimize the detection efficiency.
Alternatively or additionally, elements to generate or enhance a
specific contrast can be provided. Such elements can be energy
filters or filters filtering the signal beamlets depending on the
starting angle on the specimen 8. Typically, topographic contrast,
voltage contrast, and/or material contrast can be used to enhance
the image contrast. An enhanced image contrast contributes to the
higher throughput.
[0089] Embodiments described herein combine various concepts to
arrive at a charged particle beam device, which brings either in
full wafer inspection based on scanning electron beam into reach
for industrial utilization with sufficiently high throughput or
which results in an outstanding cost of ownership per throughput
unit. Thereby, even though some of the features might occur to be
unrelated on first sight, the combination of concepts and/or
features provides the opportunity for the sufficiently high
throughput and/or the improved cost of ownership per throughput
unit, which was both previously not possible with one of the
concepts of embodiments described herein or even a few of the
concepts described herein. According to embodiments described
herein, a single charged particle source with an aperture plate
having 5 aperture openings or more are provided for primary beamlet
generation. Individual deflectors provide the beamlets such that
they appear to come from different sources and deflection of the
individual beamlets to reduce aberrations can be provided. Thereby,
the individual deflectors with a multi-pole having an order of 8 or
a higher order allow for correction of individual aberrations. The
scanning deflector having a multi-pole having an order of 8 or
higher provide a global aberration correction and can for example
be provided within the objective lens or close to the objective
lens, and, thus, allows for coma-free or coma reduced scanning with
a large field of view. A magnetic-electrostatic compound lens in
deceleration mode, i.e. a retarding field electrostatic-magnet lens
inter alia provides the desired resolution, the landing energies
for inspection, and provides an extraction of signal beamlets,
which reduces crosstalk. A beam separation, particularly with a
beam separator and a beam bender or mirror, allows for detection of
individual detectors without disturbing the primary beamlets. This
also helps to provide the detection with reduced cross-talk at high
throughput. Finally, this concept of an electron beam device can be
easily arrayed in an array of charged particle beam devices, such
that a sufficient number of primary beamlets can be provided at the
desired resolution and with a sufficiently small crosstalk between
signal beamlets. Typically, the probe distance, i.e. the minimum
distance between two primary beamlets, on the specimen can be 10
.mu.m or larger, e.g. 40 .mu.m to 200 .mu.m, which may correspond
to a distance of aperture openings of 70 .mu.m or larger. Yet
further, if the minimum number of beamlets is not five primary
beamlets but at least two primary beamlets, i.e. two aperture
openings, two individual deflectors, and two detection elements,
the throughput might not yet be sufficient for industrial full area
wafer inspection. In light of the outstanding resolution of such a
multi-beam device in addition with the comparable ease of
manufacturing the components, the cost of ownership per throughput
unit can be significantly improved as compared to other
systems.
[0090] According to some embodiments described herein, which can be
combined with other embodiments described herein, an aperture plate
with at least two aperture openings or with at least five aperture
openings are provided. Thereby, a multi-aperture plate is provided.
Typically, the multi-aperture plate is a one-piece unit. Yet, it
may also include two or more pieces. The design of the
multi-aperture plate follows different criteria and is design in
the context of the overall electron optical ray path. According to
some embodiments, which can be combined with other embodiments
described herein, the number of aperture openings is at least two
or at least five, as explained above. For example, the number can
be 9 to 15, such as 9 or 11. The number of aperture openings is
typically a compromise between the largest possible total current
and the optical performance, in particular the achievable spot size
in the largest possible beamlet field. Another boundary condition
is the beamlet separation on the sample, which can be e.g. 10 .mu.m
or above, such as 40 .mu.m to 200 .mu.m, particularly 40 .mu.m to
60 .mu.m, such as about 50 .mu.m. This minimal distance of two
primary beamlets on the specimen is provided to assure signal
beamlet separation on the detectors, e.g. to reduce or avoid
crosstalk. According to some embodiments, which can be combined
with other embodiments described herein, a one-dimensional (line)
array or 2-dimensional arrays (e.g. 4.times.4, 3.times.3,
4.times.4, 5.times.5, etc. or asymmetrical arrays e.g. 2.times.5)
can be provided. The grid configuration, i.e. the positions of the
primary beamlets on the specimen and/or the positions of the
aperture openings in the aperture plate, can be provided such that
during the scan a complete coverage of the substrate surface is
achieved. For example, designs as described with respect to FIG. 3
can be used. Thereby, the scanning of the electron beamlets may not
only include an e-beam scan e.g. in the x-y-direction but can
include a mixed scan operation like an e-beam scan in combination
with a stage movement
[0091] According to some embodiments, which can be combined with
other embodiments described herein, the distance of the aperture
openings can be determined by the value of the probe separation,
which can deliver detection signals with significantly reduced
crosstalk or even without. Thereby, it has to be considered that
not only the x-y-distance between the apertures in the aperture
plate is a relevant factor but also the overall system
demagnification, which is defined by the condenser lens assembly
and the objective lens, the z-location (position along the optical
axis,) of the aperture plate in the optical beam path, and the
individual beamlet deflection angle, which not only has to generate
the virtual source separation but also has to fulfill other ray
trace requirements, e.g. directing the beam through the coma free
point of the objective lens, have to be considered. According to
some embodiments, which can be combined with other embodiments
described herein, the demagnification of a charged particle beam
device can be 5-times to 20-times, e.g. about 10-times. According
to some embodiments, which can be combined with other embodiments
described herein, the distance of the aperture plate can be 50 mm
to 200 mm, e.g. 80 mm to 120 mm, such as about 100 mm, from the
charged particle source.
[0092] According to some embodiments, which can be combined with
other embodiments described herein, the diameter of the aperture
hole can be from 0.05 mm to 0.2 mm, e.g. about 0.1 mm. The
optimized diameter can be determined by the required current per
beamlet and the corresponding optimum aperture angle suitable for
the optics involved or by the required spot size per beamlet and
the corresponding optimum aperture angle. In this optimization
process, aberrations from the lenses involved as well as e-e
interaction have to be considered. According to some embodiments,
which can be combined with other embodiments described herein, the
diameter of the aperture plate can be 1 mm to 20 mm, such as 2 to 6
mm.
[0093] FIGS. 12A and 12B show different embodiments of arrangements
of the condenser lens 950, an aperture plate 5 and individual
deflectors for charged particle beam devices according to
embodiments described herein. FIG. 12A shows the source 2 and the
condenser lens 950 provided between the source and the aperture
plate 5. The individual deflectors, for example 6A, 6B and 6C as
shown in FIG. 12, are downstream of the aperture plate 5, i.e. the
aperture plate is provided between the condenser lens 950 and the
individual deflectors. The positioning of the condenser lens 950 as
shown in FIG. 12A results in virtual beam sources 902 and 902'. In
FIG. 12A, the charged particle source 2, the condenser lens 950,
the aperture plate 5 and the individual deflectors are provided in
this order. Thereby, the condenser lens magnifies the size of the
charged particle source 2 and de-magnifies the aperture angle.
[0094] Another example is shown in FIG. 12B. Thereby, the charged
particle source 2, the aperture plate 5, the individual deflectors,
and that condenser lens 950 are provided in this order. Thereby,
also virtual sources 902 and 902' are generated.
[0095] Further combinations of aperture plates 5, individual
deflectors and one or more condenser lenses are shown in FIGS. 13A
and 13B. In FIG. 13A, the charged particle source 2, the aperture
plate, a first arrangement of individual deflectors, for example
deflectors 6A, 6B, and 6C, the condenser lens 950 and a 2nd
arrangement of individual deflectors, for example deflectors 136A,
136B, and 136C, are provided in this order.
[0096] FIG. 13B shows yet a further embodiment, which can be
combined with other embodiments described herein, and can
particularly be used in charged particle beam devices according to
embodiments described herein. Thereby, a second condenser lens 1350
is provided. For example, the charged particle source 2, the
aperture plate 5, the first condenser lens 950, the individual
deflectors, and the 2nd condenser lens 1350 are provided in this
order. The second condenser lens provides additional flexibility
with respect to source magnification and spot separation on the
specimen.
[0097] The individual deflectors according to embodiments described
herein and which generate the virtual sources i.e. which are used
to generate individual primary beamlets by acting as deflectors,
can further be used for correction of astigmatism and for
individual focusing of the primary beamlets. As described above,
according to some embodiments, utilizing one or two condenser
lenses can be provided for control of various parameters, such as
source magnification, spot separation, source separation. According
to some embodiments, a system with two condenser lenses is
provided. FIG. 14 shows yet a further exemplary embodiment of a
charged particle beam devices having two condenser lenses 950 and
1450. Thereby, the first condenser lens 950 can be utilized to
control the de-magnification of the source within the entire
system. The second condenser lens 1450 can be provided to generate
an essentially parallel beam path of the electron beam emitted by
the charged particle source 2. Accordingly, the electrons emitted
by the charged particle source 2 have an essentially parallel beam
path when entering the aperture plate 5. The aperture plate having
aperture openings and the subsequent individual deflectors are
provided for generating the virtual sources. The individual
deflectors can be used for individual focus correction and/or
estimation correction. Thereby, having an essentially parallel
electron beam path entering the aperture plate reduces aberrations
that can be generated in the lenses defined by the individual
deflectors. The primary beamlets are focused in the specimen by
objective lens 10. Further, as indicated by power supply 1470, an
extraction voltage is provided to extract signal electrons
generated on impingement of the primary beamlets. The signal
beamlet paths are now shown in FIG. 14 and can be utilized
according to any of the embodiments described herein.
[0098] While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the
invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be
devised without departing from the basic scope thereof, and the
scope thereof is determined by the claims that follow.
* * * * *