| Patent application number | Description | Published |
|---|
| 20080218762 | System For Detecting Anomalies And/Or Features of a Surface - A cylindrical mirror or lens is used to focus an input collimated beam of light onto a line on the surface to be inspected, where the line is substantially in the plane of incidence of the focused beam. An image of the beam is projected onto an array of charge-coupled devices parallel to the line for detecting anomalies and/or features of the surface, where the array is outside the plane of incidence of the focused beam. | 09-11-2008 |
| 20080229811 | STABILIZING A SUBSTRATE USING A VACUUM PRELOAD AIR BEARING CHUCK - Substrate processing method and apparatus are disclosed. The substrate processing apparatus includes a non-contact air bearing chuck with a vacuum preload. | 09-25-2008 |
| 20080264905 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR MEASURING A CHARACTERISTIC OF A SUBSTRATE OR PREPARING A SUBSTRATE FOR ANALYSIS - Methods and systems for measuring a characteristic of a substrate or preparing a substrate for analysis are provided. One method for measuring a characteristic of a substrate includes removing a portion of a feature on the substrate using an electron beam to expose a cross-sectional profile of a remaining portion of the feature. The feature may be a photoresist feature. The method also includes measuring a characteristic of the cross-sectional profile. A method for preparing a substrate for analysis includes removing a portion of a material on the substrate proximate to a defect using chemical etching in combination with an electron beam. The defect may be a subsurface defect or a partially subsurface defect. Another method for preparing a substrate for analysis includes removing a portion of a material on a substrate proximate to a defect using chemical etching in combination with an electron beam and a light beam. | 10-30-2008 |
| 20090040525 | SYSTEMS CONFIGURED TO INSPECT A WAFER - Systems configured to inspect a wafer are provided. One system includes an illumination subsystem configured to illuminate an area on the wafer by directing light to the wafer at an oblique angle of incidence. The system also includes a collection subsystem configured to simultaneously collect light scattered from different spots within the illuminated area and to focus the light collected from the different spots to corresponding positions in an image plane. In addition, the system includes a detection subsystem configured to separately detect the light focused to the corresponding positions in the image plane and to separately generate output responsive to the light focused to the corresponding positions in the image plane. The output can be used to detect defects on the wafer. | 02-12-2009 |
| 20090059215 | Systems and Method for Simultaneously Inspecting a Specimen with Two Distinct Channels - A system is provided herein for inspecting a specimen. In one embodiment, the system may include a dual-channel microscope, two illuminators, each coupled for illuminating a different channel of the dual-channel microscope and two detectors, each coupled to a different channel of the dual-channel microscope for acquiring images of the specimen. Means are provided for separating the channels of the dual-channel microscope, so that the two detectors can acquire the images of the specimen at substantially the same time. In one embodiment, the channels of the dual-channel microscope may be spectrally separated by configuring the two illuminators, so that they produce light in two substantially non-overlapping spectral ranges. In another embodiment, the channels of the dual-channel microscope may be spatially separated by positioning the two detectors, so that the illumination light do not overlap and the fields of view of the two detectors do not overlap within a field of view of an objective lens included within the system. | 03-05-2009 |
| 20090116004 | Surface Inspection System with Improved Capabilities - Pixel intensities indicative of scattered radiation from portions of the inspected surface surrounding a location of a potential anomaly are also stored so that such data is available for quick review of the pixel intensities within a patch on the surface containing the location of the potential anomaly. Where rotational motion is caused between the illumination beam and the inspected surface, signal-to-noise ratio may be improved by comparing the pixel intensities of pixels at corresponding positions on two different surfaces that are inspected, where corresponding pixels at the same relative locations on the two different surfaces are illuminated and scattered radiation therefrom collected and detected under the same optical conditions. | 05-07-2009 |
| 20090161096 | Simultaneous Multi-Spot Inspection And Imaging - A compact and versatile multi-spot inspection imaging system employs an objective for focusing an array of radiation beams to a surface and a second reflective or refractive objective having a large numerical aperture for collecting scattered radiation from the array of illuminated spots. The scattered radiation from each illuminated spot is focused to a corresponding optical fiber channel so that information about a scattering may be conveyed to a corresponding detector in a remote detector array for processing. For patterned surface inspection, a cross-shaped filter is rotated along with the surface to reduce the effects of diffraction by Manhattan geometry. A spatial filter in the shape of an annular aperture may also be employed to reduce scattering from patterns such as arrays on the surface. In another embodiment, different portions of the same objective may be used for focusing the illumination beams onto the surface and for collecting the scattered radiation from the illuminated spots simultaneously. In another embodiment, a one-dimensional array of illumination beams are directed at an oblique angle to the surface to illuminate a line of illuminated spots at an angle to the plane of incidence. Radiation scattered from the spots are collected along directions perpendicular to the line of spots or in a double dark field configuration. | 06-25-2009 |
| 20090278044 | In-Situ Differential Spectroscopy - A spectrometer having an electron beam generator for generating an electron beam that is directed at a sample. An electron beam positioner directs the electron beam onto a position of the sample, and thereby produces a secondary emitted stream from the sample, where the secondary emitted stream includes at least one of electrons and x-rays. An secondary emitted stream positioner positions the secondary emitted stream onto a detector array, which receives the secondary emitted stream and detects both the amounts and the received positions of the secondary emitted stream. A modulator modulates the electron beam that is directed onto the sample, and thereby sweeps the electron beam between a first position and a second position on the sample. An extractor is in signal communication with both the modulator and the detector array, and extracts a differential signal that represents a difference between the signals that are received from the first position and the signals that are received from the second position. | 11-12-2009 |
| 20100073665 | DEFECT DETECTION USING TIME DELAY LOCK-IN THERMOGRAPHY (LIT) AND DARK FIELD LIT - To increase inspection throughput, the field of view (FOV) of an IR camera can be moved over the sample at a constant velocity. Throughout this moving, a modulation (e.g. optical or electrical) can be provided to the sample and IR images can be captured using the IR camera. Moving the FOV, providing the modulation, and capturing the IR images can be synchronized. The IR images can be filtered to generate the time delay LIT, thereby providing defect identification. In one embodiment, this filtering accounts for the number of pixels of the IR camera in a scanning direction. For the case of optical modulation, a dark field region can be provided for the FOV throughout the moving, thereby providing an improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) during filtering. | 03-25-2010 |
