Apparatus inspects the presence/absence of foreign substance on object having inspection region and non-inspection region arranged outside the inspection region. The apparatus includes sensor for illuminating the object and output, as image, result acquired by detecting light from region including the inspection region, and processor for detecting foreign substance based on inspection region image acquired by excluding non-inspection region image, which is image of the non-inspection region, from the image output from the sensor. The non-inspection region image includes first part generated by light from predetermined part of the non-inspection region of the inspected object and second part whose pixel value is continuous from pixel value of the first part and the processor specifies the second part based on fact that the pixel value of the second part is continuous from that of the first part.

Methods and systems for determining one or more characteristics of light in an optical system are provided. One system includes first detector(s) configured to detect light having one or more wavelengths shorter than 190 nm emitted from a light source at one or more first angles mutually exclusive of one or more second angles at which the light is collected from the light source by an optical system for illumination of a specimen and to generate first output responsive to the light detected by the first detector(s). In addition, the system includes a control subsystem configured for determining one or more characteristics of the light at one or more planes in the optical system based on the first output.

An amorphous layer is used as a protective coating for hygroscopic nonlinear optical crystals. The amorphous layer consists of one or more alkali metal borates and/or alkali earth metal borates. The amorphous layer slows or prevents water and/or oxygen from diffusing into the hygroscopic nonlinear optical crystal, thus simplifying handling, storage and operating environmental requirements. One or multiple additional coating layers may be placed on top of the amorphous layer, with the additional coating layers including conventional optical materials. The thicknesses of the amorphous layer and/or additional layers may be chosen to reduce reflectance of the optical component at one or more specific wavelengths. The coated nonlinear optical crystal is used in an illumination source utilized in a semiconductor inspection system, a metrology system, or a lithography system.

A pattering device inspection apparatus, system and method are described. According to one aspect, an inspection method is disclosed, the method including receiving, at a multi-element detector within an inspection system, radiation scattered at a surface of an object. The method further includes measuring, with processing circuitry, an output of each element of the multi-element detector, the output corresponding to the received scattered radiation. Moreover, the method includes calibrating, with the processing circuitry, the multi-element detector by identifying an active pixel area comprising one or more elements of the multi-element detector with a measured output being above a predetermined threshold. The method also includes identifying an inactive pixel area comprising a remainder of elements of the multi-element detector. Additionally, the method includes setting the active pixel area as a default alignment setting between the multi-element detector and a light source causing the scattered radiation.

To measure an effect of a wavelength-dependent measuring light reflectivity R.sub.Ret of a lithography mask, a measuring light beam is caused to impinge on said lithography mask within a field of view of a measuring apparatus. The measuring light has a wavelength bandwidth between a wavelength lower limit and a wavelength upper limit differing therefrom. The reflected measuring light emanating from an impinged section of the lithography mask is captured by a detector. A filter with a wavelength-dependent transmission within the wavelength bandwidth is introduced into a beam path of the measuring light beam between the measuring light source and the detector. The measuring light reflected by the lithography mask is captured again by the detector once the filter has been introduced. The wavelength-dependent reflectivity R.sub.Ret or an effect of the wavelength-dependent reflectivity R.sub.Ret is determined on the basis of the capture results. In comparison with the prior art, this yields an improved method for measuring an effect of a measuring light reflectivity on a lithography mask. Additionally, a method for measuring an effect of a polarization of measuring light on a measuring light impingement on a lithography mask is specified, wherein as a result of this the effect of the lithography mask on measuring light is made accessible in respect of further optical parameters of a measurement.

There is provided a system and method of a method of mask inspection, comprising: obtaining a first image representative of at least part of the mask; applying a printing threshold on the first image to obtain a second image; estimating a contour for each structural element of interest (SEI) of a group of SEIs, and extracting a set of attributes characterizing the contour, giving rise to a group of contours corresponding to the group of SEIs and respective sets of attributes associated therewith; for each given contour, identifying, among the remaining contours in the group of contours, one or more reference contours similar to the given contour, by comparing between the respective sets of attributes associated therewith; and measuring a deviation between the given contour and each reference contour thereof, giving rise to one or more measured deviations indicative of whether a defect is present.

An EUV lighting device for metrology and inspection of an EUV mask in an EUV exposure process of a semiconductor device manufacturing process includes: an EUV light source for outputting EUV light with a wavelength ranging from 5 nm to 15 nm; and a multilayer reflection zone plate having an EUV reflection multilayer film, which is a planar substrate, and a zone plate pattern. The EUV lighting device radiates EUV light output from the EUV light source to the multilayer reflection zone plate, acquires 1.sup.st diffraction light reflected, and creates EUV illumination light.

There is provided a system and method for mask inspection, comprising: obtaining a plurality of images, each representative of a respective part of the mask; generating a CD map of the mask comprising a plurality of composite values of a CD measurement of a POI respectively derived from the plurality of images, comprising, for each given image: dividing the given image into a plurality of sections; searching for the POI in the plurality of sections, giving rise to a set of sections, each with presence of at least one of the POI therein; for each section, obtaining a value of the CD measurement using a printing threshold, giving rise to a set of values of the CD measurement corresponding to the set of sections; and combining the set of values to a composite value of the CD measurement corresponding to the given image.

A system of measuring an image of a pattern in a scanning type EUV mask may include a high-power laser output unit including a flat mirror and a spherical mirror, which are used to focus a high-power femto-second laser on a gas cell; a coherent EUV light generating portion generating a coherent EUV light; a pin-hole, a graphene filter, and a zirconium (Zr) filter; a stage; an x-ray spherical mirror configured to focus a coherent EUV light; a zone-plate lens placed between the stage and the x-ray spherical mirror; an x-ray flat mirror placed between the zone-plate lens and the x-ray spherical mirror; an order sorting aperture (OSA) placed on the stage and configured to transmit only a first-order diffraction light of the focused coherent EUV light; and a detector portion placed on the stage.

An apparatus and a method for correctly measuring a phase of an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask and a method of fabricating an EUV mask including the method are described. The apparatus for measuring the phase of the EUV mask includes an EUV light source configured to generate and output EUV light, at least one mirror configured to reflect the EUV light as reflected EUV light incident on an EUV mask to be measured, a mask stage on which the EUV mask is arranged, a detector configured to receive the EUV light reflected from the EUV mask, to obtain a two-dimensional (2D) image, and to measure reflectivity and diffraction efficiency of the EUV mask, and a processor configured to determine a phase of the EUV mask by using the reflectivity and diffraction efficiency of the EUV mask.