US-12626356-B2 - Coreset based mask inspection for semiconductor specimen fabrication

US12626356B2US 12626356 B2US12626356 B2US 12626356B2US-12626356-B2

Abstract

There is provided a system and method of a method of mask inspection, comprising: obtaining a plurality of aerial images of a mask; generating a plurality of image coresets corresponding to the aerial images, comprising, for each given aerial image: applying a printing threshold on the given aerial image to obtain a binary image representative of printable features thereof; extracting a contour for each feature of interest (FOI) from the printable features, and generating a descriptor characterizing the contour, giving rise to a group of contours associated with respective descriptors; and creating an image coreset for the group of contours based on the respective descriptors thereof, the image coreset comprising one or more families, each comprising at least one representative contour representing one or more similar contours of a respective type from the group of contours. The plurality of image coresets can be merged to obtain a mask coreset.

Inventors

Evgeny BAL
Ariel SHKALIM
Vladimir OVECHKIN
Simion KURIN

Assignees

APPLIED MATERIALS ISRAEL LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20240117

Claims (20)

1 . A computerized system of inspecting a mask usable for fabricating a semiconductor specimen, the system comprising one or more processing circuitries configured to: obtain a plurality of aerial images each capturing a respective portion of a mask; generate a plurality of image coresets corresponding to the plurality of aerial images, the generating comprising, for each given aerial image: i) applying a printing threshold on the given aerial image to obtain a binary image representative of a plurality of printable features thereof; ii) extracting a contour for each feature of interest (FOI) of a group of FOIs from the plurality of printable features, and generating a descriptor characterizing the contour, giving rise to a group of contours corresponding to the group of FOIs and associated with respective descriptors; and iii) creating an image coreset for the group of contours based on the respective descriptors thereof, the image coreset comprising one or more families each comprising at least one representative contour representing one or more similar contours of a respective type from the group of contours; and merge the plurality of image coresets to obtain a mask coreset, wherein each family in the mask coreset comprises at least one representative contour representing one or more similar contours of a respective type from the plurality of aerial images, the at least one representative contour being indicated as normal or abnormal based on a number of the one or more similar contours of the respective type from the plurality of aerial images.
2 . The computerized system according to claim 1 , wherein for a family in the mask coreset that comprises at least one representative contour indicated as abnormal, the one or more processing circuitries are further configured to identify one or more similar contours of a respective type represented by the at least one representative contour, and report one or more FOIs corresponding to the one or more similar contours of the respective type as one or more defect candidates.
3 . The computerized system according to claim 2 , wherein a defect candidate from the one or more defect candidates represents an edge displacement error indicative of a relatively substantial deviation of a contour of a FOI from an expected position thereof.
4 . The computerized system according to claim 1 , wherein each family in the image coreset is associated with an indication whether the at least one representative contour thereof is indicated as normal or abnormal at an image level, the indication obtained based on the number of the one or more similar contours of the respective type from the group of contours.
5 . The computerized system according to claim 1 , wherein the image coreset is a subset of representative contours that approximates a distribution of the group of contours.
6 . The computerized system according to claim 5 , wherein the one or more processing circuitries are configured to create the image coreset by: initializing an image coreset; sequentially, for each given contour in the group of contours: searching in the image coreset for one or more reference contours based on a similarity measure applied on the descriptors thereof; in response to the one or more reference contours being identified, measuring a deviation between the given contour and each of the one or more reference contours; and determining whether to add the given contour to a family in the image coreset based on the measured deviation.
7 . The computerized system according to claim 6 , wherein in response to the one or more reference contours not being found, the one or more processing circuitries are configured to add the given contour to a new family in the image coreset.
8 . The computerized system according to claim 6 , wherein the one or more processing circuitries are configured to measure the deviation between the given contour and each of the one or more reference contours by: registering the given contour respectively with the one or more reference contours, giving rise to one or more registered pairs of contours; measuring distances between corresponding points of each registered pair of contours; and calculating the deviation based on the measured distances.
9 . The computerized system according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more processing circuitries are configured to merge the plurality of image coresets by measuring deviation between representative contours from different image coresets of the plurality of image coresets, and keep at least one representative contour in the mask coreset representing one or more similar contours of the same type.
10 . The computerized system according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of image coresets are generated at least partially in parallel by multiple processors, and sent to a specific processor to be merged.
11 . The computerized system according to claim 1 , wherein the descriptor of a contour is based on one or more of: an area formed by the contour, width of the area, height of the area, the number of pixels along the contour, a chain code, a center of gravity, and polar coordinates of the contour.
12 . The computerized system according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of aerial images are sequentially acquired by an actinic mask inspection tool configured to emulate optical configuration of a lithographic tool.
13 . The computerized system according to claim 1 , wherein the merging of the plurality of image coresets enables to share contour statistics among the plurality of aerial images across the mask, thereby allowing to reduce false alarms and improving detection sensitivity.
14 . The computerized system according to claim 1 , wherein the mask coreset is usable as a mask coreset model for subsequent inspection of one or more masks.
15 . The computerized system according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of aerial images are captured for a single-die mask or a multi-die mask.
16 . A computerized method of inspecting a mask usable for fabricating a semiconductor specimen, the method comprising: obtaining a plurality of aerial images each capturing a respective portion of a mask; generating a plurality of image coresets corresponding to the plurality of aerial images, the generating comprising, for each given aerial image: i) applying a printing threshold on the given aerial image to obtain a binary image representative of a plurality of printable features thereof; ii) extracting a contour for each feature of interest (FOI) of a group of FOIs from the plurality of printable features, and generating a descriptor characterizing the contour, giving rise to a group of contours corresponding to the group of FOIs and associated with respective descriptors; and iii) creating an image coreset for the group of contours based on the respective descriptors thereof, the image coreset comprising one or more families each comprising at least one representative contour representing one or more similar contours of a respective type from the group of contours; and merging the plurality of image coresets to obtain a mask coreset, wherein each family in the mask coreset comprises at least one representative contour representing one or more similar contours of a respective type from the plurality of aerial images, the at least one representative contour being indicated as normal or abnormal based on a number of the one or more similar contours of the respective type from the plurality of aerial images.
17 . The computerized method according to claim 16 , wherein the image coreset is a subset of representative contours that approximates a distribution of the group of contours.
18 . The computerized method according to claim 17 , wherein the image coreset is created by: initializing an image coreset; sequentially, for each given contour in the group of contours: searching in the image coreset for one or more reference contours based on a similarity measure applied on the descriptors thereof; in response to the one or more reference contours being identified, measuring a deviation between the given contour and each of the one or more reference contours; and determining whether to add the given contour to a family in the coreset based on the measured deviation.
19 . The computerized method according to claim 16 , wherein the merging of the plurality of image coresets comprises measuring deviation between representative contours from different image coresets of the plurality of image coresets, and keeping at least one representative contour in the mask coreset representing one or more similar contours of a same type.
20 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium tangibly embodying a program of instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform a method of inspecting a mask usable for fabricating a semiconductor specimen, the method comprising: obtaining a plurality of aerial images each capturing a respective portion of a mask; generating a plurality of image coresets corresponding to the plurality of aerial images, the generating comprising, for each given aerial image: i) applying a printing threshold on the given aerial image to obtain a binary image representative of a plurality of printable features thereof; ii) extracting a contour for each feature of interest (FOI) of a group of FOIs from the plurality of printable features, and generating a descriptor characterizing the contour, giving rise to a group of contours corresponding to the group of FOIs and associated with respective descriptors; and iii) creating an image coreset for the group of contours based on the respective descriptors thereof, the image coreset comprising one or more families each comprising at least one representative contour representing one or more similar contours of a respective type from the group of contours; and merging the plurality of image coresets to obtain a mask coreset, wherein each family in the mask coreset comprises at least one representative contour representing one or more similar contours of a respective type from the plurality of aerial images, the at least one representative contour being indicated as normal or abnormal based on a number of one or more similar contours of the respective type from the plurality of aerial images.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The presently disclosed subject matter relates, in general, to the field of mask inspection, and more specifically, to defect detection with respect to a photomask. BACKGROUND Current demands for high density and performance associated with ultra large-scale integration of fabricated micro-electronic devices require submicron features, increased transistor and circuit speeds, and improved reliability. As semiconductor processes progress, pattern dimensions such as line width, and other types of critical dimensions, are continuously shrunken. Such demands require formation of device features with high precision and uniformity, which, in turn, necessitates careful monitoring of the fabrication process, including automated examination of the devices while they are still in the form of semiconductor wafers. Semiconductor devices are often manufactured using photo lithographic masks (also referred to as photomasks or masks or reticles) in a photolithography process. The photolithography process is one of the principal processes in the manufacture of semiconductor devices, and comprises patterning a wafer's surface in accordance with the circuit design of the semiconductor devices to be produced. Such a circuit design is first patterned on a mask. Hence, in order to obtain operating semiconductor devices, the mask must be defect free. Masks are manufactured by a complex process and can suffer from various defects and variations. In addition, the mask is often used in a repeated manner to create many dies on one or more wafers. Thus, any defect on the mask will be repeated multiple times on the wafers and will cause multiple devices to be defective. Establishing a production-worthy process requires tight control of the overall lithography process. Within this process, critical dimension (CD) control is a determining factor with respect to device performance and yield. Various mask inspection methods have been developed and are available commercially. According to certain conventional techniques of designing and evaluating masks, the mask is created and used to expose therethrough a wafer, and then an inspection is performed to determine whether the features/patterns of the mask have been transferred to the wafer according to the design. Any variations in the final printed features from the intended design may necessitate modifying the design, repairing the mask, creating a new mask, and/or exposing a new wafer. In this regard, verification of the accuracy and quality of the printed features permits an indirect method of verifying the mask. However, since the final printed pattern on the wafer or die is formed after the printing process, e.g., the resist development, the substrate treatment (such as material etching or deposition), etc., it may be difficult to attribute, discriminate, or isolate errors in the final printed pattern to problems associated with the mask and/or the resist deposition and/or the developing processes. Moreover, inspecting the final printed pattern on the wafer or die tends to offer a limited number of samples usable to detect, determine, and resolve any processing issues. This process may also be labor intensive and presents an extensive inspection and analysis time. Alternatively, a mask can be directly inspected using various mask inspection tools. SUMMARY In accordance with certain aspects of the presently disclosed subject matter, there is provided a computerized system of inspecting a mask usable for fabricating a semiconductor specimen, the system comprising one or more processing circuitries configured to: obtain a plurality of aerial images each capturing a respective portion of a mask; generate a plurality of image coresets corresponding to the plurality of aerial images, comprising, for each given aerial image: i) apply a printing threshold on the given aerial image to obtain a binary image representative of a plurality of printable features thereof; ii) extract a contour for each feature of interest (FOI) of a group of FOIs from the plurality of printable features, and generate a descriptor characterizing the contour, giving rise to a group of contours corresponding to the group of FOIs and associated with respective descriptors; and iii) create an image coreset for the group of contours based on the respective descriptors thereof, the image coreset comprising one or more families, each comprising at least one representative contour representing one or more similar contours of a respective type from the group of contours; and merge the plurality of image coresets to obtain a mask coreset, wherein the mask coreset comprises one or more families, each family comprising at least one representative contour representing one or more similar contours of a respective type from the plurality of aerial images, the at least one representative contour being indicated as normal or abnormal based on the number of the one or more similar contours of the respective type from th