1. A reticle pattern defect correcting apparatus, comprising:
a lithographic emulation system including an optical emulation system and an image processing unit; and
a defect correcting system including a micromachining defect correcting mechanism with a cantilever and a control unit therefor.
2. The reticle pattern defect correcting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said optical emulation system includes an illumination optical lens system for leading irradiation light from a light source to a reticle, said reticle, a projection optical lens system for projecting and focusing the irradiation light having passed through said reticle onto a photo receiver and a light receiving device provided in said photo receiver.
3. The reticle pattern defect correcting apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said illumination optical lens system and said projection optical lens system have optical characteristics equivalent to the optical characteristics of the illumination optical lens system and the projection optical lens system which are used when said reticle pattern is transferred to a semiconductor wafer surface.
4. The reticle pattern defect correcting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said image processing unit has a function of running a simulation based on the light information received by said light receiving device and the patterning characteristic information on a photo resist, which has been previously input to said image processing unit, to produce a simulation display of a photoresist pattern to be transferred onto a semiconductor wafer.
5. The reticle pattern defect correcting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit, as a part of said defect correcting system, and said image processing unit, as a part of said lithographic emulation system, are connected to each other.
6. The reticle pattern defect correcting apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said control unit can monitor the image displayed on said image processing unit.
7. A reticle pattern defect correcting method for correcting a reticle pattern defect by using one reticle pattern defect correcting apparatus comprising: a lithographic emulation system including an optical emulation system and an image processing unit; and a defect correcting system including a defect correcting mechanism and a control unit, the method comprising:
1) a step of mounting a reticle on said optical emulation system and locating a reticle pattern defect;
2) a step of correcting said reticle pattern defect using said defect correcting system;
3) a step of running a simulation based on the light information received by said light receiving device provided for the photo receiver of said optical emulation system and the patterning characteristic information on a photo resist, which has been previously input to said image processing unit, to produce a simulation display of a photoresist pattern to be transferred onto a semiconductor wafer;
4) a step of calculating the difference of the correction level in the transferred image of the photoresist pattern, simulation-displayed on said image processing unit, from predetermined permissible specifications; and
5) a step of ending the correction of the reticle pattern defect when said calculated difference has been eliminated by iterating the loop from said steps 2) to 4).
8. The reticle pattern defect correcting method according to claim 7, wherein the correction of the reticle pattern defect at said step 2) is carried out while the simulation transferred image of the reticle pattern to be transferred on the semiconductor wafer is being observed.
9. The reticle pattern defect correcting method according to claim 8, wherein said simulation transferred image is obtained using an apparatus having optical characteristics equivalent to that of the light source used in the actual exposure device, the illumination optical lens system and the projection optical lens system, by performing a simulation based on the light information received by the light receiving device provided on the image forming surface and parameters that contribute to the patterning shape of the photo resist.
10. The reticle pattern defect correcting method according to claim 9, wherein the result of said simulation executed by the image processing unit as a part of said lithographic emulation system is transmitted to the control unit as a part of said defect correcting system, so that the reticle pattern defect is corrected using said defect correcting mechanism while the simulation transfer image on the semiconductor wafer, which is displayed on said control unit, is being monitored.
11. The reticle pattern defect correcting method according to claim 7, wherein said defect correcting mechanism uses a micromachining defect correcting mechanism including a cantilever.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A tuning method for a discharge ionization current detector configured to utilize helium plasma generated by low-frequency dielectric barrier discharge, comprising:
adjusting at least one of purity of introduced helium gas, a flow rate of the introduced helium gas, an amplitude of voltage of the low-frequency dielectric barrier discharge, and a frequency of the voltage of the low-frequency dielectric barrier discharge so that intensity of light having a wavelength of 640 nm reaches the maximum in a range of wavelengths of 250 to 700 nm with respect to light emitted by the helium plasma.
2. A discharge ionization current detector configured to utilize helium plasma generated by low-frequency dielectric barrier discharge, comprising:
a) a helium gas introducing section configured to introduce helium gas;
b) a voltage adjusting section configured to adjust an amplitude or a frequency of low-frequency voltage applied to a discharge electrode used for the low-frequency dielectric barrier discharge;
c) a light detecting section configured to detect intensity of light for every wavelength in a range of wavelengths of 250 to 700 nm with respect to light emitted by the helium plasma; and
d) a control section configured to control the voltage adjusting section in such a manner that intensity of light having a wavelength of 640 nm reaches the maximum in the range of the wavelengths.
3. The discharge ionization current detector according to claim 2, further comprising:
e) a helium gas purity adjusting section configured to adjust purity of the introduced helium gas, and
f) a helium gas flow rate adjusting section configured to adjust a flow rate of the introduced helium gas,
wherein the control section is configured to control at least one of the helium gas purity adjusting section and the helium gas flow rate adjusting section in such a manner that the intensity of the light having the wavelength of 640 nm reaches the maximum in the range of the wavelengths.
4. The discharge ionization current detector according to claim 2,
wherein the control section is further configured to control the voltage adjusting section in such a manner that the intensity of the light having the wavelength of 640 nm remains constant.
5. A discharge ionization current detector configured to utilize helium plasma generated by low-frequency dielectric barrier discharge, comprising:
a helium gas introducing section configured to introduce helium gas; and
a low-frequency voltage applying section configured to apply low-frequency voltage, which is determined in such a manner that intensity of light having a wavelength of 640 nm reaches the maximum in a range of wavelengths of 250 to 700 nm with respect to light emitted by the helium plasma, to a discharge electrode used for the low-frequency dielectric barrier discharge.
6. A discharge ionization current detector configured to utilize helium plasma generated by low-frequency dielectric barrier discharge, comprising:
a low-frequency voltage applying section configured to apply low-frequency voltage to a discharge electrode used for the low-frequency dielectric barrier discharge; and
a helium gas introducing section configured to introduce helium gas, whose purity or flow rate is determined in such a manner that intensity of light having a wavelength of 640 nm reaches the maximum in a range of wavelengths of 250 to 700 nm with respect to light emitted by the helium plasma.
7. The discharge ionization current detector according to claim 3,
wherein the control section is further configured to control the voltage adjusting section in such a manner that the intensity of the light having the wavelength of 640 nm remains constant.