Abstract
Super-resolution is a technique to estimate a high-resolution image from plural low-resolution images and has been applied in various fields. In the semiconductor device manufacturing there has been a pressing need for inspection and measurement by using high-resolution image of scanning electron microscope (SEM). Super-resolution is expected to be effective, while it may fail in estimation of high-resolution image due to the brightness fluctuation between corresponding pixels in low-resolution images. We propose a novel super-resolution method that can handle plural factors of the brightness fluctuation based on a maximum a posterior probability (MAP) estimation. The proposed method maximizes a posterior probability consisting of combinations of plural fluctuation probability distributions for shot noise, pattern deformation, and exception value (e.g., defect particle). Robustness of the proposed method against these fluctuation factors is shown by using real SEM images of semiconductor patterns.
