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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7956630 | Real-time effective-wavelength error correction for HDVSI An error correction for effective-wavelength variations is implemented by adjusting the filter parameters of the quadrature demodulation algorithm of a high definition vertical scanning process using a phase step that accounts for phase-step changes associated with ... | 06/07/2011 |
| 7898672 | Real-time scanner-nonlinearity error correction for HDVSI An error correction for scanner position is implemented by adjusting the filter parameters of the quadrature demodulation module of an HDVSI algorithm using a reference signal from an independent position measurement device (PMD). The step size generated by the PMD ... | 03/01/2011 |
| 7812966 | Method of determining the depth profile of a surface structure and system for determining the depth profile of a surface structure According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method of determining the depth profile of a surface structure includes: irradiating the surface structure with irradiation light including light components of different wavelengths; and determining the depth p... | 10/12/2010 |
| 7522290 | Apparatus and method for inspecting semiconductor wafer A semiconductor wafer surface inspection apparatus detects LADs (Large Area Defects) which are flat and have low heights and differentiates them from particles. This inspection apparatus irradiates each point on the surface of a semiconductor wafer 200 with t... | 04/21/2009 |
| 7411667 | Method for correcting disturbances in a level sensor light path The invention relates to a level sensor for determining a height of a substrate. The level sensor generates one or more measurement beam and directs the measurement beam to a measurement spot on the substrate and produces a reflected measurement beam. The level sens... | 08/12/2008 |
| 7397569 | Method and system for interferometric height measurement A system and method for interferometric height measurement. A first coherent light beam and a second coherent light beam is generated. At least the first coherent light beam is reflected from a first region into a first return beam and the second coherent light beam... | 07/08/2008 |
| 7345771 | Apparatus and method for measurement of critical dimensions of features and detection of defects in UV, VUV, and EUV lithography masks Methods and apparatus are disclosed for measurement of critical dimensions (CD) of features and detection of defects in reflecting UV, VUV, and EUV lithography masks and in transmitting UV and VUV lithography masks. The measured CD's may be used in the determination... | 03/18/2008 |
| 7286238 | Feature isolation for frequency-shifting interferometry Frequency-scanning interferometry is used for measuring test objects having multiple surface regions. The regions are distinguished and can be measured based on different measuring criteria. Interference data is gathered for the imageable portion of the test object ... | 10/23/2007 |
| 7259869 | System and method for performing bright field and dark field optical inspection A system and method are disclosed for performing bright field and dark field optical inspection. In one embodiment, a system is provided for performing bright field coherent detection by means of an interferometer and dark field detection of scattered light using a ... | 08/21/2007 |
| 7221459 | Method and system for interferometric height measurement The invention relates to an interferometric method for measuring a height of a first region on a first surface, the first surface having first areas having first optical properties and second areas having second optical properties, the method comprising the steps of... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7212294 | Method for determination of the level of two or more measurement points, and an arrangement for this purpose A method and arrangement for determining the level of at least two measurement points with a light beam direct along a first direction and being deflected through 90° with respect to the first direction to a second direction, the second direction being rotated thro... | 05/01/2007 |
| 7133139 | Longitudinal differential interferometric confocal microscopy A differential interferometric confocal microscope for measuring an object, the microscope including a source-side pinhole array; a detector-side pinhole array; and an interferometer that images the array of pinholes of the source-side pinhole array onto a first arr... | 11/07/2006 |
| 7129454 | Precision optical intracellular near field imaging/spectroscopy technology A Precision Optical Intracellular Near Field Imaging/Spectroscopy Technology (POINT/NANOPOINT) is a high-resolution instrument for analyzing and comparing molecular characteristics of cells. A nanosensor array is provided which is capable of imaging inner regions of... | 10/31/2006 |
| 7122465 | Method for achieving increased control over interconnect line thickness across a wafer and between wafers According to one exemplary embodiment, a method comprises a step of etching a trench in an ILD layer, said trench having sidewalls and a bottom surface. The method further comprises determining a height of the sidewalls of the trench. The method further comprises fi... | 10/17/2006 |
| 7095507 | Method and apparatus using microscopic and interferometric based detection An integrated interferometric and intensity based microscopic inspection system inspects semiconductor samples. A switchable illumination module provides illumination switchable between interferometric inspection and intensity based microscopic inspection modes. Com... | 08/22/2006 |
| 7084983 | Interferometric confocal microscopy incorporating a pinhole array beam-splitter A confocal interferometry system for making interferometric measurements of an object, the system including an array of pinholes positioned to receive a source beam and, for each pinhole in the array of pinholes, separate the source beam into a corresponding referen... | 08/01/2006 |
| 7046372 | Transverse differential interferometric confocal microscopy An array of conjugated quadratures of fields is measured interferometrically by a confocal interferometer and detector system wherein each conjugated quadratures comprises a difference of conjugated quadratures of fields of beams scattered/reflected or transmitted b... | 05/16/2006 |
| 7030995 | Apparatus and method for mechanical phase shifting interferometry An interferometry method including: i) forming an optical interference image by combining different portions of an optical wave front reflected from a pair of surfaces; ii) recording an interference signal at different locations of the optical interference image in ... | 04/18/2006 |
| 7030997 | Characterizing aberrations in an imaging lens and applications to visual testing and integrated circuit mask analysis Aberrations in a lens and lens system are identified by projecting an optical beam through a mask having an opening (probe) and a surrounding open geometry (pattern) and through the lens to an image plane. Lens aberrations are identified from the combined intensity ... | 04/18/2006 |
| 7023560 | Method and apparatus for dark field interferometric confocal microscopy A differential interferometric confocal microscope for measuring an object, the microscope including: a source-side pinhole array; a detector-side pinhole array; and an interferometer that images the array of pinholes of the source-side pinhole array onto a first ar... | 04/04/2006 |
| 7019840 | Dual-beam interferometer for ultra-smooth surface topographical measurements A method and apparatus for using a dual-beam interferometer to test surface flatness is provided. The interferometer directs two beams focused at distinct points on a testing surface, such as the surface of a magnetic recording disc. An offset distance “d” betwe... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7019841 | System and method for inspecting a component using interferometry A system for inspecting a component is provided. The system includes an interferometer having a coated mirror, such as a coating that allows only a fraction of light to pass, where the coating has a predetermined thickness. An interference inspection system receives... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7002695 | Dual-spot phase-sensitive detection Apparatus for optical assessment of a sample includes a radiation source, adapted to generate a beam of coherent radiation, and traveling lens optics, adapted to focus the beam so as to generate first and second spots on a surface of the sample and to scan the spots... | 02/21/2006 |
| 6989905 | Phase gap analysis for scanning interferometry A method including: providing a coherence profile and a phase profile derived from interferometry data for a test surface; calculating a phase gap map, wherein the phase gap map is related to a difference between the coherence profile and the phase profile; fitting ... | 01/24/2006 |
| 6961199 | Disk unit and temperature control method thereof A disk unit for writing data in a given position on a disk and reading data written in the given position on the disk by using a head includes a temperature control unit for controlling a temperature of a body of the disk unit by heating or cooling the body of the d... | 11/01/2005 |
| 6943898 | Apparatus and method for dual spot inspection of repetitive patterns Apparatus for optical assessment of a sample includes a radiation source, adapted to generate a beam of coherent radiation, and traveling lens optics, adapted to focus the beam so as to generate first and second spots on a surface of the sample and to scan the spots... | 09/13/2005 |
| 6934027 | Interferometric measuring device An interferometric measuring device for measuring the shape of a surface of an object having a radiation source which emits a short-coherent radiation, a beam splitter for forming an object beam which is directed via an object light path to the object, and a referen... | 08/23/2005 |
| 6813031 | Method of determining material using intensity of light A profiling method compensates for phase changes associated with the presence of multiple or varying material in the area to be measured. The profiling method measures at least a portion of the height profile of the area of interest. The phase of the different mater... | 11/02/2004 |
| 6775009 | Differential interferometric scanning near-field confocal microscopy An interferometric optical microscopy system for imaging an object, the system including: a measurement beam mask array having an array of aperture pairs positioned to receive radiation emitted from the object in response to a measurement beam, radiation emerging fr... | 08/10/2004 |
| 6710883 | Apparatus and method for measuring flatness of thin plate The invention measures a thickness variation at a high accuracy around a wide range of a thin plate by a comparatively large spot diameter between 0.5 mm and 2 mm. A polarization beam splitter separating a laser beam emitted from a laser generator and transmitting t... | 03/23/2004 |
| 6667809 | Scanning interferometric near-field confocal microscopy with background amplitude reduction and compensation The invention features systems and methods for near-field, interferometric microscopy in which one or more phase retardation plates are positioned in the measurement and/or reference arms to reduce the contribution to the interference signal of background... | 12/23/2003 |
| 6654130 | Method and apparatus for determining temperature and temperature distribution in a slider A method for in-situ measuring a temperature and/or temperature distribution within a slider due to local heat transfer is provided, whereby the slider is positioned above the surface of a rotating disk, and carries a sensor and/or write element, whereby ... | 11/25/2003 |
| 6643027 | Optical measurement system and method for determining height differential between two surfaces The split-beam optical thickness gauge (OTG) measures the height difference of two adjacent surfaces. Low-coherence light is generated by the low-coherence light source. The split-beam probe head receives the low-coherence light and splits the incoming lo... | 11/04/2003 |
| 6580515 | Surface profiling using a differential interferometer A differential interferometer is used to measure the step height between a reference region and at least one point in a measurement region using the relative phase difference as well as the measured reflectance from at least the point in the measurement r... | 06/17/2003 |
| 6433876 | Multiple wavelength or multiple shear distance quantitative differential interference contrast microscopy A differential interference contrast (DIC) microscope system is provided comprising: (a) an illumination source for illuminating a sample; (b) a lens system for viewing the illuminated sample, including an objective, defining an optical axis; (c) a DIC pr... | 08/13/2002 |
| 6392752 | Phase-measuring microlens microscopy A scanning microlens array functions in a manner analogous to an array of interference microscopes to provide phase-sensitive, confocal micro-imaging capability. Moreover, the scanning mechanism can effectively perform a phase-modulation function. In this... | 05/21/2002 |
| 6259530 | Method and device for measuring the depths of bottoms of craters in a physico-chemical analyzer Disclosed is a method for measuring the depth of the bottoms of craters under formation on a sample placed within an analysis chamber of a physico-chemical analyzer, by optical interferometry. The method consists in splitting an incident bi-frequency lase... | 07/10/2001 |
| 6229618 | Method of improving registration accuracy and method of forming patterns on a substrate using the same A method of improving registration accuracy of a semiconductor device, and a method of forming a pattern on a substrate using the improving method are provided in which an amount of offset in registration can readily be calculated even when a registration... | 05/08/2001 |
| 6034814 | Differential interference microscope A reflected light differential interference microscope (100) having a birefringent optical member (B). Each birefringent optical member has a ray-separating plane (QB) that intersects the optical axis (A2') at an intersection point (PB | 03/07/2000 |
| 5914782 | Differential polarization interference microscope for surface feature imaging A differential interference microscope is capable of accurately measuring bumps on an object surface. A ray from a light source is guided to a polarizer and a birefringent prism in this order. An ordinary ray and an extraordinary ray, split by the birefri... | 06/22/1999 |
