| Patent Number |
Title Of Patent |
Date Issued |
| RE40225 |
Two-dimensional beam deflector |
April 8, 2008 |
| A two dimensional beam deflector is disclosed which deflects beams from multiple optical assemblies. The input of beams of the multiple optical assemblies follow parallel optical paths until deflection to a wafer. An ellipsometer using a two-dimensional beam deflector is also disclosed. |
| RE38153 |
Two-dimensional beam deflector |
June 24, 2003 |
| A two dimensional beam deflector is disclosed which deflects beams from multiple optical assemblies. The input of beams of the multiple optical assemblies follow parallel optical paths until deflection to a wafer. An ellipsometer using a two-dimensional beam deflector is also disclosed. |
| 7614932 |
Method and system for endpoint detection |
November 10, 2009 |
| A method and system are presented for monitoring a process sequentially applied to a stream of substantially identical articles by a processing tool, so as to terminate the operation of the processing tool upon detecting an end-point signal corresponding to a predetermined value of a |
| 7595896 |
Thin films measurement method and system |
September 29, 2009 |
| A method and system are presented for use in controlling the processing of a structure. First measured data is provided being indicative of at least one of the following: a thickness (d.sub.2) of at least one layer (L.sub.2) of the structure W in at least selected sites of the structure |
| 7525634 |
Monitoring apparatus and method particularly useful in photolithographically |
April 28, 2009 |
| Apparatus for processing substrates according to a predetermined photolithography process includes a loading station in which the substrates are loaded, a coating station in which the substrates are coated with a photoresist material, an exposing station in which the photoresist coat |
| 7495782 |
Method and system for measuring patterned structures |
February 24, 2009 |
| A method and system are presented for determining a line profile in a patterned structure, aimed at controlling a process of manufacture of the structure. The patterned structure comprises a plurality of different layers, the pattern in the structure being formed by patterned regions |
| 7482596 |
Vacuum UV based optical measuring method and system |
January 27, 2009 |
| A method and system are presented for use in optical processing of an article by VUV radiation. The method comprises: localizing incident VUV radiation propagation from an optical head assembly towards a processing site on the article outside the optical head assembly and localizing |
| 7477405 |
Method and system for measuring patterned structures |
January 13, 2009 |
| A measurement method and system configured to determine parameters of a structure during production, the system including: a stage configured to support the structure during measurements; a measuring unit coupled to the stage; and a processor coupled to the measuring unit. The measuring |
| 7330259 |
Optical measurements of patterned articles |
February 12, 2008 |
| A method and system are presented for use in measuring/inspecting a patterned article. Optical measurements are applied to a measurement site on the article by illuminating the measurement site with a plurality of wavelengths at substantially normal incidence of the illuminating light, |
| 7327476 |
Thin films measurement method and system |
February 5, 2008 |
| A method and system are presented for use in controlling the processing of a structure. First measured data is provided being indicative of at least one of the following: a thickness (d.sub.2) of at least one layer (L.sub.2) of the structure W in at least selected sites of the structure |
| 7301163 |
Lateral shift measurement using an optical technique |
November 27, 2007 |
| Alignment of layers during manufacture of a multi-layer sample is controlled by applying optical measurements to a measurement site in the sample. The measurement site includes two diffractive structures located one above the other in two different layers, respectively. The optical m |
| 7292341 |
Optical system operating with variable angle of incidence |
November 6, 2007 |
| An optical system for use in measurements in a sample comprising a light source (102) operable to produce an incident light beam propagating in a certain direction towards the sample (S) through an illumination channel (IC), a detector unit (104) for collecting light coming from the samp |
| 7289234 |
Method and system for thin film characterization |
October 30, 2007 |
| A method and system are presented for optical measurements in multi-layer structures to determine the properties of at least some of the layers. The structure is patterned by removing layer materials within a measurement site of the structure from the top layer to the lowermost layer |
| 7289190 |
Monitoring apparatus and method particularly useful in photolithographically |
October 30, 2007 |
| Apparatus for processing substrates according to a predetermined photolithography process includes a loading station in which the substrates are loaded, a coating station in which the substrates are coated with a photoresist material, an exposing station in which the photoresist coat |
| 7255748 |
Apparatus for integrated monitoring of wafers and for process control in semiconductor manufactu |
August 14, 2007 |
| The present invention relates to an integrated apparatus for monitoring wafers and for process control in the semiconductor manufacturing process, by means of at least two different measurements that can be installed inside any part of the semiconductor production line, i.e., inside |
| 7251043 |
Method and system for measuring thin films |
July 31, 2007 |
| An optical system is presented for use in a measurement system (100) for use in measurements of thin films of a workpiece (W), the system comprising an optical assembly (14), comprising illuminator assembly, a detector assembly, and a light directing assembly (FA-OF) for directing il |
| 7245375 |
Optical measurement device and method |
July 17, 2007 |
| A system and method are presented for measurement on an article. The system comprises an illuminator for producing light of at least one predetermined wavelength range; an optical system; a displacement arrangement; and a control system. The optical system is configured to define at |
| 7195540 |
Method and system for endpoint detection |
March 27, 2007 |
| A method and system are presented for monitoring a process sequentially applied to a stream of substantially identical articles by a processing tool, so as to terminate the operation of the processing tool upon detecting an end-point signal corresponding to a predetermined value of a |
| 7169015 |
Apparatus for optical inspection of wafers during processing |
January 30, 2007 |
| The present invention is aimed to provide a measurement system installable within a processing equipment and more specifically within the exit station of a polishing machine. The optical scheme of this system includes a spectrophotometric channel, an imaging channel and also means fo |
| 7122817 |
Lateral shift measurement using an optical technique |
October 17, 2006 |
| Alignment of layers during manufacture of a multi-layer sample is controlled by applying optical measurements to a measurement site in the sample. The measurement site includes two diffractive structures located one above the other in two different layers, respectively. The optical m |
| 7030957 |
Monitoring apparatus and method particularly useful in photolithographically processing substrat |
April 18, 2006 |
| Apparatus for processing substrates according to a predetermined photolithography process includes a loading station in which the substrates are loaded, a coating station in which the substrates are coated with a photoresist material, an exposing station in which the photoresist coat |
| 7019850 |
Method and system for thin film characterization |
March 28, 2006 |
| A method and system are presented for optical measurements in multi-layer structures to determine the properties of at least some of the layers. The structure is patterned by removing layer materials within a measurement site of the structure from the top layer to the lowermost layer |
| 6842220 |
Monitoring apparatus and method particularly useful in photolithographically processing substrat |
January 11, 2005 |
| A method for in process monitoring of the parameters of a substrate undergoing a processing within a photolithography tools arrangement which includes substrate loading and unloading stations, and substrate coating, exposure and developing stations. The method includes the step of su |
| 6833048 |
Apparatus for in-cassette monitoring of semiconductor wafers |
December 21, 2004 |
| A processing apparatus is presented for applying to a substantially flat workpiece contained in a cassette, and a processing tool coupled to the housing. The processing tool is displaceable along three mutually perpendicular axes relative to the cassette for inserting the tool into t |
| 6806971 |
Method and apparatus for process control in semiconductor manufacture |
October 19, 2004 |
| An optical system is presented for use in a measurement system for measuring in patterned structures, which is particularly useful controlling processing of the structure progressing on a production line. The system comprises an illuminator unit producing illuminating light to be dir |
| 6801326 |
Method and apparatus for monitoring a chemical mechanical planarization process applied to metal |
October 5, 2004 |
| A method is presented for optical control of the quality of a process of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) performed by a polishing tool applied to an article having a patterned area. The article contains a plurality of stacks each formed by a plurality of different layers, the |
| 6801315 |
Method and system for overlay measurement |
October 5, 2004 |
| An optical measurement method and system are presented for imaging two target structures in two parallel layers, respectively, of a sample, to enable determination of a registration between the two target structures along two mutually perpendicular axes of the layer. The sample is il |
| 6791686 |
Apparatus for integrated monitoring of wafers and for process control in the semiconductor manuf |
September 14, 2004 |
| An integrated apparatus for optically monitoring semiconductor workpieces includes a supporting assembly for supporting the workpiece, and an optical monitoring unit positioned opposite the surface of the workpiece and separated therefrom by an optical window. The optical monitoring unit |
| 6764379 |
Method and system for endpoint detection |
July 20, 2004 |
| A method and system are presented for monitoring a process sequentially applied to a stream of substantially identical articles by a processing tool, so as to terminate the operation of the processing tool upon detecting an end-point signal corresponding to a predetermined value of a |
| 6752689 |
Apparatus for optical inspection of wafers during polishing |
June 22, 2004 |
| An optical system is disclosed for the inspection of wafers during polishing which also includes a measurement system for measuring the thickness of the wafers top layer. The optical system views the wafer through a window and includes a gripping system, which places the wafer in a p |
| 6733619 |
Apparatus for integrated monitoring of wafers and for process control in semiconductor manufactu |
May 11, 2004 |
| The present invention relates to an integrated apparatus for monitoring wafers and for process control in the semiconductor manufacturing process, by means of at least two different measurements that can be installed inside any part of the semiconductor production line, i.e., inside the |
| 6720568 |
Method and system for optical inspection of a structure formed with a surface relief |
April 13, 2004 |
| A method and system are presented for inspecting a structure containing a pattern in the form of a surface relief fabricated by a pattern-creating tool applied to the structure. Reference data is provided being indicative of photometric intensities of light components of different wavele |
| 6657736 |
Method and system for measuring patterned structures |
December 2, 2003 |
| A method and system are presented for determing a line profile in a patterned structure, aimed at controlling a process of manufacture of the structure. The patterned structure comprises a plurality of different layers, the pattern in the structure being formed by patterned regions and |
| 6603529 |
Monitoring apparatus and method particularly useful in photolithographically processing substrat |
August 5, 2003 |
| An apparatus for processing substrates according to a predetermined photolithography process is presented. The apparatus includes a loading station in which the substrates are loaded, a coating station in which the substrates are coated with a photoresist material, an exposing station in |
| 6426502 |
Apparatus for integrated monitoring of wafers and for process control in the semiconductor manuf |
July 30, 2002 |
| The present invention relates to an integrated apparatus for monitoring wafers and for process control in the semiconductor manufacturing process, by means of optical measurements at more than one spectral range that can be installed inside any part of the semiconductor production line, |
| 6424417 |
Method and system for controlling the photolithography process |
July 23, 2002 |
| A method and a system are presented for automatic optical control of at least one working parameter of a processing tool to be applied to a working area of a workpiece for providing certain process results. The at least one working parameter of the processing tool affects at least one |
| 6407809 |
Optical inspection system and method |
June 18, 2002 |
| An optical inspection system is presented, aimed at detecting defects on a substantially flat workpiece having an axis of symmetry. The workpiece is supported on a stage so as to be in an inspection plane, the stage being mounted for rotation in a plane parallel to the inspection plane. |
| 6368181 |
Apparatus for optical inspection of wafers during polishing |
April 9, 2002 |
| An optical system is disclosed for the inspection of wafers during polishing which also includes a measurement system for measuring the thickness of the wafer's top layer. The optical system views the wafer through a window and includes a gripping system, which places the wafer in a |
| 6292265 |
Method and apparatus for monitoring a chemical mechanical planarization process applied to metal |
September 18, 2001 |
| A method is presented for optical control of the quality of a process of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) performed by a polishing tool applied to an article having a patterned area. The article contains a plurality of stacks each formed by a plurality of different layers, the |
| 6281974 |
Method and apparatus for measurements of patterned structures |
August 28, 2001 |
| A method for measuring at least one desired parameter of a patterned structure having a plurality of features defined by a certain process of its manufacturing. The structure represents a grid having at least one cycle formed of at least two locally adjacent elements having different |
| 6166801 |
Monitoring apparatus and method particularly useful in photolithographically processing substrat |
December 26, 2000 |
| Apparatus for processing substrates according to a predetermined photolithography process includes a loading station in which the substrates are loaded, a coating station in which the substrates are coated with a photoresist material, an exposing station in which the photoresist coat |
| 6100985 |
Method and apparatus for measurements of patterned structures |
August 8, 2000 |
| A method for measuring at least one desired parameter of a patterned structure having a plurality of features defined by a certain process of its manufacturing. The structure represents a grid having at least one cycle formed of at least two locally adjacent elements having different |
| 6038029 |
Method and apparatus for alignment of a wafer |
March 14, 2000 |
| A semiconductor production tool which provides alignment of a wafer at a fab station thereof includes an optical system, a wafer translation mechanism, a field of view translation unit and a unit for determining alignment. The optical system has a field of view which views the wafer. |
| 5957749 |
Apparatus for optical inspection of wafers during polishing |
September 28, 1999 |
| An optical system is disclosed for the inspection of wafers during polishing which also includes a measurement system for measuring the thickness of the wafer's top layer. The optical system views the wafer through a window and includes a gripping system, which places the wafer in a |
| 5764365 |
Two-dimensional beam deflector |
June 9, 1998 |
| A two dimensional beam deflector is disclosed which deflects beams from multiple optical assemblies. The input of beams of the multiple optical assemblies follow parallel optical paths until deflection to a wafer. An ellipsometer using a two-dimensional beam deflector is also disclosed. |
| 5604344 |
Autofocussing microscope having a pattern imaging system |
February 18, 1997 |
| An autofocussing mechanism is provided which is useful for all objective lenses and during scanning of the object. The autofocussing mechanism operates with a microscope having a main optical path, an objective lens, an object surface, an image plane and apparatus for changing the distan |
| 5517312 |
Device for measuring the thickness of thin films |
May 14, 1996 |
| A thin film thickness measuring device is disclosed. The device includes an illuminator, a receiver and a beam deflector. The illuminator provides a collimated input light beam along an input axis. The receiver includes a lens and a diaphragm having a pinhole located at a focal point of |
| 5450201 |
Apparatus and method for optical inspection of articles |
September 12, 1995 |
| Apparatus for optically inspecting an article, includes an illuminating system, an imaging system, and portable polarizing devices including a polarizer in the illuminating system, an analyzer in the imaging system, and a phase compensator in one of the systems. The illuminating system |
| 5333052 |
Method and apparatus for automatic optical inspection |
July 26, 1994 |
| An inspection system for providing high contrast images of two materials of an article to be inspected is disclosed. Light with variable spectral range and large angular coverage is passed from the source through a polarizer, reflects from or is transmitted through the article to be |
