Systems and methods for detecting defects on a specimen based on structural information are provided. One system includes one or more computer subsystems configured for separating the output generated by a detector of an inspection subsystem in an array area on a specimen into at least first and second segments of the output based on characteristic(s) of structure(s) in the array area such that the output in different segments has been generated in different locations in the array area in which the structure(s) having different values of the characteristic(s) are formed. The computer subsystem(s) are also configured for detecting defects on the specimen by applying one or more defect detection methods to the output based on whether the output is in the first segment or the second segment.

An electron beam inspection apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes an image acquisition mechanism to acquire a secondary electron image by scanning a substrate, on which a figure pattern is formed, with an electron beam, and detecting a secondary electron emitted due to irradiation with the electron beam by the scanning, a resize processing unit to perform, using design pattern data being a basis of the figure pattern, resize processing on the figure pattern to enlarge its size in a scan direction of the electron beam, a first developed image generation unit to generate, using the design pattern data which has not been resized, a first developed image by developing an image of a design pattern of a region corresponding to the secondary electron image, a second developed image generation unit to generate, using partial patterns enlarged by the resize processing in the figure pattern having been resized, a second developed image by developing an image of partial patterns in a region corresponding to the secondary electron image, a map generation unit to generate a pseudo defect candidate pixel map which can identify a pseudo defect candidate pixel that has no pattern in the first developed image and has a pattern in the second developed image, a reference image generation unit to generate a reference image of the region corresponding to the second electron image, and a comparison unit to compare, using the pseudo defect candidate pixel map, the second electron image with the reference image of the region corresponding to the second electron image.

A detecting method and a detecting equipment therefor are provided. The detecting method includes: inspecting whether a display panel has a defective position; after acquiring the defective position of the display panel by the inspecting, using a first focused ion beam generated by a first ion overhaul apparatus to cut the defective position of the display panel, so as to strip a defect at the defective position and observe morphology of defect; using a repair apparatus to perform a repair treatment on the defective position after the defect is stripped. An inspection apparatus for the inspecting of the defective position, the first ion overhaul apparatus and the repair apparatus are sequentially installed on the same production line.

A drift amount computing device (100) computes an amount of drift between a first image and a second image, and comprises a correlation function computing section (112) for calculating a correlation function between the first and second images, a local maximum position searching section (114) for searching a range of positions of the correlation function for local maximum positions, a local maximum position determining section (116) for assigning weights to intensities of plural local maximum positions according to the distance from the center of the correlation function, comparing the weighted intensities of the local maximum positions, and determining one of the maximum local positions which corresponds to the amount of drift, and a drift amount computing section (118).

To improve the workability of the task of adjusting the position of a limit field diaphragm. An electron microscope provided with an image-capturing means for capturing an image of an observation visual field prior to insertion of a limit field diaphragm as a map image, a recording means for recording the map image, an extraction means for capturing an image of the observation visual field after insertion of the limit field diaphragm and extracting the outline of the diaphragm, a drawing means for drawing the outline on the map image, and a display means for displaying the image drawn by the drawing means.

Methods and systems for determining one or more characteristics for defects detected on a specimen are provided. One system includes one or more computer subsystems configured for identifying a first defect that was detected on a specimen by an inspection system with a first mode but was not detected with one or more other modes. The computer subsystem(s) are also configured for acquiring, from the storage medium, one or more images generated with the one or more other modes at a location on the specimen corresponding to the first defect. In addition, the computer subsystem(s) are configured for determining one or more characteristics of the acquired one or more images and determining one or more characteristics of the first defect based on the one or more characteristics of the acquired one or more images.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a charged particle beam device with which it is possible to minimize the beam irradiation amount while maintaining a high measurement success rate. The present invention is a charged particle beam device provided with a control device for controlling a scan deflector on the basis of selection of a predetermined number n of frames, wherein the control device controls the scan deflector so that a charged particle beam is selectively scanned on a portion on a sample corresponding to a pixel satisfying a predetermined condition or a region including the portion on the sample from an image obtained by scanning the charged particle beam for a number m of frames (m≧1), the number m of frames being smaller than the number n of frames.

An alignment system that realizes high reproducibility of position information during re-observation and in which a user can efficiently and easily re-observe an area of interest is provided. An alignment system that enables correlative observation between the imaging device 104 and the charged particle beam device 100, in which a plurality of positional alignment points are set on a sample carrier in a state where a sample is placed on the sample carrier, the alignment controller 153 obtains a transformation matrix that transforms a coordinate system of the imaging device and a coordinate system of the charged particle beam device based on position information and magnification of each of the plurality of positional alignment points when a first image is imaged by an imaging device and position information and magnification of each of a plurality of positional alignment points when observing by a charged particle beam device, and transforms a field of view designated for the first image into field-of-view information of the charged particle beam device by using the transformation matrix.

The present disclosure pertains to a method, a system, and a computer-readable medium for highly precisely measuring the depth of a recess formed in a sample even when, inter alia, the material or pattern density of the sample differs. In order to achieve the purpose described above, there are proposed a method, a measurement system, and a non-temporary computer-readable medium for storing program commands that can be executed by a computer system, the method, system, and medium involving: using a measurement tool to acquire an image or a brightness distribution of a region including a recess formed in a sample; extracting a first characteristic of the interior of the recess, and a second characteristic pertaining to the dimensions or area of the recess, from the acquired image or brightness distribution; and inputting the extracted first characteristic and second characteristic to a model that indicates the relationship between the first characteristic, the second characteristic, and a depth index of the recess to thereby derive the depth index of the recess.

In order to measure a 3D profile of a pattern formed on a sample obtained by stacking a plurality of different materials, for each of materials constituting the pattern, an attenuation coefficient μ indicating a probability of an electron being scattered at a unit distance in the material previously stored, an interface position where different materials are in contact, upper and bottom surface positions of the pattern in a BSE image are extracted, and a depth from the upper surface position to a specified position of the pattern is calculated based on a ratio nIh of a contrast between the specified position and the bottom surface position of the pattern to a contrast between the upper and bottom surface positions of the pattern in the BSE image, an attenuation coefficient of a material at the bottom and specified positions of the pattern.