Patent ID: 6671398
Filing Date: 2003-12-30
Classification: G01N,H01L

Abstract:
A hybrid method of inspecting a patterned semiconductor wafer, comprising the steps of:(a) generating an illumination beam; (b) impinging said illumination beam upon said wafer surface; (c) performing material classification inspection of said wafer surface using electrons released therefrom, the material classification inspection comprising the steps of: (c1) collecting the electrons emitted from said wafer surface due to the impingement of said beam; (c2) generating a classification signal corresponding to the amount of electrons collected from the wafer in step (c1); (c3) analyzing the classification signal generated in step (c2) to determine the presence of defects on the wafer based on the material classification; and (d) performing scattered light detection of the illumination beam reflected from said wafer surface, the scattered light detection comprising the steps of: (d1) receiving light scattered from said wafer surface onto a plurality of detectors; and (d2) determining an existence of surface defects based on the light received by said plurality of detectors in step (d1).