Quotables
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."
Ken Olsen, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation ; 1977
PatentStorm News
Make the Most of Our Site
See this month's Top Inventors and Most Cited Patents.
Stay on top of the latest innovations by subscribing to an RSS feed.
Registered users: Manage your profile.
| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 5565979 | Surface scanning apparatus and method using crossed-cylinder optical elements An apparatus and method for inspecting a substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer, includes crossed cylindrical optical elements that form an elliptical beam that is caused to scan in parallel fashion at an oblique angle to the substrate. Preferably, the ... | 10/15/1996 |
| 5552704 | Eddy current test method and apparatus for measuring conductance by determining intersection of lift-off and selected curves A method and apparatus for performing conductance measurements on a sample using an eddy current probe, without the need for measurement or knowledge of the separation between probe and sample. The probe comprises sense and drive coils mounted in close pr... | 09/03/1996 |
| 5530550 | Optical wafer positioning system The position detector has a sensitivity characteristic graded along a direction transverse to the surface, so that the output of the position detector is used to determine a height of the surface. A surface height detection and positioning device for use ... | 06/25/1996 |
| 5416594 | Surface scanner with thin film gauge An optical surface scanner for semiconductor wafers and like substrates having one channel with a detector receiving collected scattered light and another channel with a detector receiving reflected light. The scattered light signal is indicative of surfa... | 05/16/1995 |
| 5355212 | Process for inspecting patterned wafers A method of locating particle and defect features on a periodically patterned surface uses multiple threshold intensity levels to identify features in the data stream produced by scanning the surface with a light beam and detecting the light scattered fro... | 10/11/1994 |
| 5309755 | Profilometer stylus assembly insensitive to vibration A stylus profilometer having a counterbalanced stylus with a motion transducer using a vane moving between parallel, spaced-apart, conductive plates which damp the motion of the vane by means of trapped air. The vane forms an electrode with the plates so ... | 05/10/1994 |
| 5276498 | Adaptive spatial filter for surface inspection An inspection apparatus for a light diffracting surface employs a planar array of individually addressable light valves for use as a spatial filter in an imaged Fourier plane of a diffraction pattern, with valves having a stripe geometry corresponding to ... | 01/04/1994 |
| 5264912 | Speckle reduction track filter apparatus for optical inspection of patterned substrates An apparatus used to inspect patterned wafers and other substrates with periodic features for the presence of particles, defects and other aperiodic features in which a spatial filter placed in the Fourier plane is used in combination with either broadban... | 11/23/1993 |
| 5248889 | Laser apparatus and method for measuring stress in a thin film using multiple wavelengths An apparatus and a method for measuring the radius of curvature of a surface using a laser beam with a wavelength selectable from a plurality wavelengths are disclosed. The present invention avoids poor measurement due to destructive interference of the b... | 09/28/1993 |
| 5243465 | Area-division beamsplitter with broad spectral bandwidth A broadband area-division beamsplitter that includes a pair of abutting triangular prisms providing two surfaces that are in optical contact in certain areas and are out of optical contact in other areas. One prism surface is substantially planar while ad... | 09/07/1993 |
| 5241366 | Thin film thickness monitor A thin film thickness monitor using successive reflection of a polychromatic light beam off of reference thin film of variable optical thickness and a sample thin film whose thickness is to be determined, in which a monochromatic light source is used befo... | 08/31/1993 |
| 5189481 | Particle detector for rough surfaces A surface inspection apparatus having multiple inspection stations to inspect a wafer for a number of characteristics. The wafer is placed on a chuck connected to a rack-and-pinion or equivalent system so that the wafer simultaneously rotates and translat... | 02/23/1993 |
| 5168386 | Flat field telecentric scanner Flat-field telecentric scan systems, each having a planar scanning reflector situated in a light path and mounted for movement about a scan axis, a concave spherical mirror fixed in a position in the light path an effective focal length away from the scan... | 12/01/1992 |
| 5083035 | Position location in surface scanning using interval timing between scan marks on test wafers A particle imager and method for imaging particles on surfaces of substrates. A surface is raster scanned by a collimated light beam and particles on the surface are detected by the scattered light caused by the particles. During a scan path the intensity... | 01/21/1992 |
| 5076692 | Particle detection on a patterned or bare wafer surface A method and apparatus for predicting the number of contaminant particles in circuit area of a patterned semiconductor wafer having a number of reflective circuit areas. The method includes forming on a wafer in specified areas, a grating test pattern, su... | 12/31/1991 |
| 5026437 | Cantilevered microtip manufacturing by ion implantation and etching A method for fabricating a microtip, cantilevered from a base and having a controllably high aspect ratio, for use in microprobe microscopy to probe variations in materials at the atomic level. A two-layer semiconductor material structure is provided, one... | 06/25/1991 |
| 5023424 | Shock wave particle removal method and apparatus An apparatus and method using laser induced shock waves to dislodge particles from a wafer surface. The apparatus includes a wafer support, a particle detector and computer for locating and storing the locations of particles on the wafer, a laser, and foc... | 06/11/1991 |
| 4998019 | Photoemission contaminant detector Methods for determining the presence or absence of, and the thickness or other spacial extent of, a contaminant layer at each of a plurality of two or more sites on the surface of an electrically conductive material such as a semiconductor, a metal or a m... | 03/05/1991 |
| 4988877 | Via hole checker Method and apparatus for determining the amount, if any, of residue remaining at the bottom of an aperture in a layer of dielectric or insulator material. A layer of electrically conducting material is positioned adjacent to the aperture bottom, an electr... | 01/29/1991 |
| 4967095 | Method and apparatus for detecting and sizing particles on surfaces A method and apparatus for detecting and classifying particles on a surface in which condensation is used to enlarge particles. An apparatus of the present invention includes a heatable wick disposed over a test surface and in fluid communication with a s... | 10/30/1990 |
| 4965484 | Vapor discharge lamp with gradient temperature control An end-viewed vapor discharge lamp having a differential temperature control structure that removes heat more effectively from a base end of the lamp than from the light emitting output end of the lamp. The lamp envelope which contains an excitable vapor,... | 10/23/1990 |
| 4898471 | Particle detection on patterned wafers and the like A particle detection on a periodic patterned surface is achieved in a method and apparatus using a single light beam scanning at a shallow angle over the surface. The surface contains a plurality of identical die with streets between die. The beam scans p... | 02/06/1990 |
| 4899055 | Thin film thickness measuring method A method of measuring thin film thickness, especially on semiconductor substrates, in which the substrate is illuminated with ultraviolet light of a fixed wavelength corresponding to a persistent spectral line and the amount of light reflected from the su... | 02/06/1990 |
| 4877997 | High brightness and viewed gas discharge lamp An end-viewed low-pressure gas discharge lamp and an envelope for said lamp having a capillary tube discharge bore for containing an excitable gas in which the capillary tube is in direct contact with a cooling medium. A window of optical quality fused si... | 10/31/1989 |
| 4861125 | Suspension assembly for a scanning mirror An optical scanning device for flaw detection or the like having a suspension system including at least two pairs of flexure legs. A first pair has flexure legs diagonally crossed in spaced-apart relation and fixed at one end to a stationary body and at a... | 08/29/1989 |
| 4844617 | Confocal measuring microscope with automatic focusing A confocal measuring microscope including a spectrometer and autofocus system sharing common optical elements in which the intensity of light entering the spectrometer from a particular spot on a workpiece is used to determine a focus condition for the sa... | 07/04/1989 |
| 4766324 | Particle detection method including comparison between sequential scans A particle detection method for matching particles detected in two scans of a surface taken at different times in which particles having a light scattering intensity above a collection threshold are first detected and the measured position and scattering ... | 08/23/1988 |
| 4752898 | Edge finding in wafers A system for finding the orientation of a substantially circular disk shaped wafer with at least one flat region on an edge thereof, in which the wafer is spun one 360 degree turn on a chuck and the edge position is measured by a linear array to obtain a ... | 06/21/1988 |
| 4641967 | Particle position correlator and correlation method for a surface scanner A method and apparatus for particle detection and position correlation that fuses separate detections of the same particle on adjacent scan lines into one. A first scan line on a surface is scanned with a laser beam and the scattered light detected. The d... | 02/10/1987 |
| 4609037 | Apparatus for heating and cooling articles A first thermally conductive plate holds an article and heats the article with heating elements in the plate. Parallel rails support the first plate above a base. Cooling passageways for coolant flow are in a second thermally conductive plate. The second ... | 09/02/1986 |
| 4601576 | Light collector for optical contaminant and flaw detector A two-stage light collector, including a first stage which admits a scanning beam and a second stage which is optically connected to the first stage and has a light detector therein. The first stage has a shape which re-images diffusely scattered radiatio... | 07/22/1986 |
| 4597708 | Wafer handling apparatus A wafer handler featuring a carriage movable along a rail path, the carriage supporting an upright rotatable arm with a cantilevered wafer chuck. Elevators for raising and lowering trays containing wafer stacks are disposed on either side of the rail path... | 07/01/1986 |
| 4597665 | Dual collector optical flaw detector A flaw detector for optically transmissive surfaces having a first light collector above the surface and a second light collector below the surface. A scanning light beam is directed into the first light collector through a beam entrance aperture and only... | 07/01/1986 |
| 4512659 | Apparatus for calibrating a surface scanner A test device for calibrating an optical scanner wherein microscopic patterns of light scattering elements simulate the scattering of light from particles or flaws of different sizes. Simulation of different particles sizes is achieved by means of cluster... | 04/23/1985 |
| 4433835 | Wafer chuck with wafer cleaning feature A wafer chuck and a wafer loading and unloading system wherein a flat support surface of the chuck has a plurality of peaks and valleys, with the peaks minimizing contact with the wafer, yet having sufficient contact area for wafer support without deforma... | 02/28/1984 |
| 4391044 | Metrology instrument for measuring vertical profiles of integrated circuits and the like A surface profile measuring instrument, which has a stylus supported on a linear elongated beam for linear scanning. The beam is supported by a mounting mechanism which compensates for tilt by means of a servo. The stylus is pushed and pulled along the be... | 07/05/1983 |
| 4378159 | Scanning contaminant and defect detector A scanning laser contaminant and defect detector for reflective surfaces, having a light collector for increasing sensitivity to scattered light. The collector is preferably one quadrant of a spherical shell cradled between V-shaped reflective side walls.... | 03/29/1983 |
| 4376482 | Wafer orientation system A wafer orienting apparatus having inwardly biased rollers, spaced about the circumferential edge of a wafer in contact with the edge. Two of the rollers are spaced apart a distance less than the dimension of a primary flat registration edge and are mount... | 03/15/1983 |
| 4302721 | Non-contacting resistivity instrument with structurally related conductance and distance measuring transducers An instrument for computing resistivity based upon measurements of thickness and conductance. A conductance transducer is a solenoid in an annular ferrite cup connected to a tank circuit for an eddy current measurement of conductance. Within the center of... | 11/24/1981 |
| 4285053 | Acoustic method and apparatus for measuring micron and submicron distances A gauge for measuring variations in distance of a surface relative to a reference by means of phase shifts in a zone of high acoustic impedance. A gauge head is provided with a first orifice for emitting acoustic waves, driven by a reference signal, towar... | 08/18/1981 |
