A frequency modulation technique is described to distinguish between particle signals and stray light in a prototype of a photolithographic mask inspection system. Strict cleanliness requirements apply to the reticles used in photolithography, and to guarantee correct alignment and pattern reproduction both sides of a reticle (pellicle on front side and reticle back side) need to be inspected for contamination. Reticles constitute difficult inspection targets for imaging systems, because their diffractive patterns can redirect light in arbitrary directions which may potentially result in false positive detections. In this paper we introduce a frequency encoded structural illumination system which enables automatic delineation between stray light and particle signal. In our approach, a sinusoidal pattern whose temporal frequency changes with spatial coordinates is used to obliquely illuminate the surface under test. Incoherent illumination is used, and thus the signal recorded by the imaging optics positioned normal to the inspected surface is a superposition of light scattered by particles and stray light redirected by the photolithographic pattern. Because the inspected surface and reticle pattern are from the perspective of an observation system axially separated, the frequency response of each individual detector point is z position dependent. Therefore, Fourier analysis can be used to analyze the frequency content of each pixel individually and by comparing measured with expected frequencies, one can distinguish between light scattered by particles and stray light. The frequency encoding technique can be used in both imaging and scatterometry based systems. Example experimental results are presented.
EUV and DUV reticles are inspected before exposure to guarantee the quality of the lithographic process. The pellicle and the reticle back side are typically inspected for the presence of contaminants which are several micrometers in diameter. While detection of macroscopic particles is fairly straightforward, delineation between particle and stray light due to diffractive properties of reticle pattern is challenging. We present a particle detection system based on structural illumination technology capable of automatic delineation between contaminants and stray light. During measurement a series of images is acquired by a macro-imaging optical detector (e.g. camera) positioned normal in reference to the investigated sample. The surface under test is illuminated at an oblique angle by an incoherent polychromatic projection system projecting a pattern whose temporal frequency changes across the inspected surface. The signal acquired by the detector is in general an incoherent sum of light scattered by particles with stray light returned by the diffractive pattern. Temporal samples of intensity data are analyzed pixel by pixel in the Fourier domain and the particles are differentiated from the stray light by comparing the Fourier spectra of the acquired signal with the frequency a particle should generate at an analyzed pixel based on the system geometry. Thus, unwanted stray light signal contributions are separated from particle signal by performing logical operations on the signal in the Fourier domain. Experimental results from a technology demonstrator are provided to illustrate performance.
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