Patent ID: 6674572
Filing Date: 2004-01-06
Classification: G01B,G02B

Abstract:
An automatic inspection process for determining deviations of at least a first height profile from at least one simultaneously or previously detected second height profile, for detecting and/or monitoring defects in semiconductor wafers utilizing a confocal microscope comprising:an illumination arrangement for illuminating an object in a confocal raster pattern; first means for generating a first wavelength-selective splitting of the illumination light; second means for generating a second wavelength-selective splitting of the light coming from the object in a simultaneous manner for a plurality of points at varying heights of the object, the light coming from the object containing spectrally coded height information for the plurality of points of the object; and detection means for detecting the light distribution generated by the second means, said process including the steps of: illuminating a first object in a wavelength-selective manner by the illumination arrangement; and detecting the light originating from the first object with an array of detectors and comparing detected light electronically with a previously or simultaneously detected second object.