Blind contact detection in the irregularly periphery area using leap & scan e-beam inspection

• Key Technology for Invisible Defects Detection: Electron beam inspection (EBI) system using the Leap & Scan mode with external electric field is a key technology for root cause analysis of invisible defects. • Issues in Continuous Inspection Mode : Continuous inspection mode suffers serious misalignment and low voltage contrast issues, it is hard to inspect the irregularly periphery area. • Choose the Right Inspection Mode: Leap & Scan mode with external electric field have good alignment performance and significant voltage contrast differences. It has higher sensitivity to verify the voltage contrast difference both in array and periphery. • Effective Inspection in Irregularly Periphery Area: External electron filed suppresses the surface charging, and extracts the electrons to surface then enhancing the voltage contrast among the contact plugs. The blind contact plugs in the irregularly periphery area can be monitored effectively under this optimized e-beam inspection condition.