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EP0398781A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for low angle, high resolution surface inspection
Assignee: Eastman Kodak Co
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Filing: 1990-05-04
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2010-05-04
Abstract
Abstract The invention relates to an inspection system for inspecting the surfaces of wafers, LCD's and film substrates for flaws. The system includes a scanning laser inspection system (50) for quickly inspecting the surface and identifying and locating the flaws. The system generates and displays a flaw map graphically illustrating the article surface and the respective locations of the flaws for subsequent optical inspection. The operator selects a flaw and an optical inspection system (60) is positioned over the selected flaw to provide a magnified image of the flaw. The operator may optically inspect all or any number of the flaws. The invention also includes means (72) for spectrometrically analyzing the reflected light to further identify the flaw.
Inventors
- 👤 Kevin E. Moran
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-27 20:48
CPC Classifications
H; H10; H10P; H10P72/00; H10P72/06; H10P72/0616; G; G01; G01N; G01N21/00; G01N21/84; G01N21/88; G01N21/8851; G01N2021/8887; G01N21/95; G01N2021/9513; G01N21/17; G01N21/25; G01N21/31; G01N21/9501; G01N2201/00; G01N2201/10; G01N2201/103; H10P74/00; H10P74/20; H10P74/203
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 32
Claim 1
Independent Claim
178 words
An apparatus for inspecting the surface of an article for flaws, comprising: transport means (30) for transporting the article past an inspection zone: laser inspection means (50) positioned adjacent the inspection zone and including means for scanning a laser beam over a relatively large area of the article surface and for detecting flaws thereon: flaw map display means (13,82) cooperating with said laser inspection means for displaying to the operator of the apparatus a flaw map showing the locations of the detected flaws on the article surface; optical inspection means (60) positioned adjacent the inspection zone for inspecting the article surface; operator actuable selection means (16,84) cooperating with said flaw map display means to allow the operator to selected from the displayed flaw map a particular location on the article surface for closer inspection; and positioning means (40,48a,48b) responsive to said selection means and cooperating with said transport means for positioning the selected particular location on the article surface within the field of view of said optical inspection means so that the selected location can be optically inspected.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
178 words
An apparatus for inspecting the surface of an article for flaws, comprising: transport means (30) for transporting the article past an inspection zone: laser inspection means (50) positioned adjacent the inspection zone and including means for scanning a laser beam over a relatively large area of the article surface and for detecting flaws thereon: flaw map display means (13,82) cooperating with said laser inspection means for displaying to the operator of the apparatus a flaw map showing the locations of the detected flaws on the article surface; optical inspection means (60) positioned adjacent the inspection zone for inspecting the article surface; operator actuable selection means (16,84) cooperating with said flaw map display means to allow the operator to selected from the displayed flaw map a particular location on the article surface for closer inspection; and positioning means (40,48a,48b) responsive to said selection means and cooperating with said transport means for positioning the selected particular location on the article surface within the field of view of said optical inspection means so that the selected location can be optically inspected.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
An apparatus as defined in Claim 1 wherein said optical inspection means includes magnification means for providing a high magnification view of a relatively small area of the article surface.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
53 words
An apparatus as defined in Claim 2 wherein said optical inspection means includes a video camera (61), and said magnification means comprises an optical microscope lens (62) connected to said camera, and including a video display (14) operatively connected to said video camera for displaying the high magnification view of the article surface.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
39 words
An apparatus as defined in Claim 1 wherein said transport means (30) comprises an X-Y table (31) adapted for receiving the article thereon and for precisely moving the article relative said laser inspection means and said optical inspection means.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
54 words
An apparatus as defined in Claim 1 wherein said optical inspection means (60) is mounted with a viewing axis oriented substantially normal to the article surface, and wherein said laser inspection means (50) includes means (51,52) for scanning a laser beam over the article surface at a relative low angle to the article surface.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
90 words
An apparatus as defined in Claim 1 wherein said transport means (30) comprises means (31,48a,48b) for receiving the article thereon and for moving the article relative to said laser inspection means (50) and said optical inspection means (60), and wherein said laser inspection means (50) includes means (51,52,57) for successively scanning a laser beam over the article surface during movement of the article by said transport means and for generating data identifying the flaws and their corresponding locations on the article surface for use by said flaw map display means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
48 words
An apparatus as defined in Claim 6 wherein said laser inspection means additionally includes means for storing said data identifying the flaws and their corresponding locations for subsequent use by said positioning means in positioning a selected flaw within the field of view of said optical inspection means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
51 words
An apparatus as defined in Claim 1 wherein said flaw map display means includes a video display screen (13) for displaying the flaw map, and said operator actuable selection means (16,84) cooperates with said video display screen to allow the operator to select a particular flaw display on the flaw map.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
50 words
An apparatus as defined in Claim 8 wherein said operator actuable selection means includes cursor means (84) displayed on the display screen (13) and an operator actuable pointing device (16) for moving the cursor means so as to point to and select a particular flaw displayed on the flaw map.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
135 words
An apparatus according to Claim 1 particularly adapted for inspecting a patterned surface of an article for flaws, and wherein said laser inspection means includes means for directing a polarized laser beam in a predetermined scan path at a relatively low angle to the article surface during movement of the article by said transport means path the inspection zone, and detector means including polarizing filter means positioned for receiving laser energy reflected from the surface of the article; and wherein said optical inspection means includes a video camera, an optical microscope lens connected to said camera, and a video display operatively connected to said video camera for displaying a high magnification view of the article surface and wherein said optical inspection means is mounted with a viewing axis oriented substantially normal to the article surface.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
39 words
An apparatus as defined in Claim 10 wherein said detector means is positioned at an acute angle with respect to said laser beam directing means so as to receive light reflected generally back toward said laser beam directing means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
27 words
An apparatus as defined in Claim 10 further including spectrometer means cooperating with said optical inspection means to permit analyzing the color characteristics of the selected flaw.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
288 words
An apparatus for inspecting the surface of an article for flaws, comprising: transport means (30) for transporting the article along a predetermined path of travel past an inspection zone; laser inspection means (50) positioned adjacent the inspection zone for detecting flaws on the article surface, and including means (51,52) for directing a laser beam in a predetermined scan path at a relatively low angle to the article surface during movement of the article by said transport means past the inspection zone, and detector means (55,57) positioned for receiving laser energy reflected from the surface of the article; means (57a,40) cooperating with said detector means for analyzing the reflected laser energy and for generating data identifying flaws and their corresponding locations on the article surface; flaw map display means (13,82) for receiving the thus produced data and for displaying to the operator of the apparatus a flaw map showing the locations of the detected flaws on the article surface; optical inspection means (60) positioned adjacent the inspection zone for inspecting the article surface, and including a video camera (61), an optical microscope lens (62) connected to said camera, and a video display (14) operatively connected to said video camera for displaying a high magnification view of the article surface; operator actuable selection means (16,84) cooperating with said flaw map display means to allow the operator to select from the displayed flaw map a particular flaw on the article surface for closer inspection; and positioning means (40,48a,48b) responsive to said selection means and cooperating with said transport means for positioning the article such that the selected flaw is within the field of view of said optical inspection means so that the selected flaw can be optically inspected at high magnification.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
288 words
An apparatus for inspecting the surface of an article for flaws, comprising: transport means (30) for transporting the article along a predetermined path of travel past an inspection zone; laser inspection means (50) positioned adjacent the inspection zone for detecting flaws on the article surface, and including means (51,52) for directing a laser beam in a predetermined scan path at a relatively low angle to the article surface during movement of the article by said transport means past the inspection zone, and detector means (55,57) positioned for receiving laser energy reflected from the surface of the article; means (57a,40) cooperating with said detector means for analyzing the reflected laser energy and for generating data identifying flaws and their corresponding locations on the article surface; flaw map display means (13,82) for receiving the thus produced data and for displaying to the operator of the apparatus a flaw map showing the locations of the detected flaws on the article surface; optical inspection means (60) positioned adjacent the inspection zone for inspecting the article surface, and including a video camera (61), an optical microscope lens (62) connected to said camera, and a video display (14) operatively connected to said video camera for displaying a high magnification view of the article surface; operator actuable selection means (16,84) cooperating with said flaw map display means to allow the operator to select from the displayed flaw map a particular flaw on the article surface for closer inspection; and positioning means (40,48a,48b) responsive to said selection means and cooperating with said transport means for positioning the article such that the selected flaw is within the field of view of said optical inspection means so that the selected flaw can be optically inspected at high magnification.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
28 words
An apparatus as defined in Claim 13 additionally including spectrometer means (72) cooperating with said optical inspection means to permit analyzing the color characteristics of the selected flaw.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
22 words
An apparatus as defined in Claim 14 additionally including means (40) for storing data from the spectrometric analysis of the selected flaw.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
107 words
A method for inspecting the surface of an article for flaws, comprising the steps of: directing a laser light beam over the surface of the article in a predetermined scan path and generating data therefrom identifying flaws on the article surface; displaying the thus obtained data in the form of a flaw map showing the locations of the flaws on the article surface; receiving operator input of a selected particular location on the article surface for closer inspection and in response thereto positioning the selected particular location on the article surface within the field of view of an optical inspection means; and optically inspecting the article surface.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
107 words
A method for inspecting the surface of an article for flaws, comprising the steps of: directing a laser light beam over the surface of the article in a predetermined scan path and generating data therefrom identifying flaws on the article surface; displaying the thus obtained data in the form of a flaw map showing the locations of the flaws on the article surface; receiving operator input of a selected particular location on the article surface for closer inspection and in response thereto positioning the selected particular location on the article surface within the field of view of an optical inspection means; and optically inspecting the article surface.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
58 words
A method as defined in Claim 16 wherein said step of directing a laser light beam over the surface of the article comprises transporting the article along a predetermined path of travel past an inspection zone while scanning the laser light beam successively along a predetermined scan line and while detecting laser light reflected from the article surface.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
30 words
A method as defined in Claim 16 wherein said step of optically inspecting includes directing white light on the article surface and magnifying the optical image of the particular location.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
31 words
A method as defined in Claim 16 wherein said step of optically inspecting includes directing a video camera on the article surface and displaying the optical image on a video display.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
48 words
A method as defined in Claim 19 wherein said step of displaying the optical image on a video display comprises displaying a high magnification view of a relatively small area of the article surface while also displaying a larger area of the article surface on said flaw map.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
35 words
A method as defined in Claim 16 wherein said step of directing a laser light beam includes directing the laser beam in a predetermined scan path at a relatively low angle to the article surface.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method defined in Claim 16 further including the step of storing the data identifying the flaws and their corresponding locations for subsequent use in positioning a selected flaw within the field of view of the optical inspection means.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
43 words
A method according to Claim 22 wherein the step of positioning the selected flaw comprises again scanning the article surface with the laser light beam as the article is moved to verify that the selected flaw is positioned within the field of view.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
71 words
A method as defined in Claim 16 wherein the step of displaying a map comprises displaying the map on a video display screen and wherein the step of receiving operator input of a selected particular location further comprises receiving operator input of a particular flaw in cooperation with the video display screen and positioning the particular location of the selected flaw within the field of view of the optical inspection means.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
65 words
A method as defined in Claim 24 wherein the step of receiving operator input of the selected flaw comprises providing a cursor on the video display screen which moves in response to the operator input to point to a particular flaw displayed on the flaw map and receiving a signal that the flaw pointed to by the cursor is the flaw selected by the operator.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
34 words
A method as defined in Claim 16 wherein the step of optically inspecting the article surface further comprises focusing white light on the article surface and spectrometrically analyzing the light reflected by the flaw.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
21 words
A method as defined in Claim 26 further including the step of storing data from the spectrometric analysis of the flaw.
Claim 31
Independent Claim
143 words
A method for inspecting the surface of an article for flaws, comprising the steps of: transporting the article along a predetermined path of travel past an inspection zone while; directing a laser beam in a predetermined scan path at a relatively low angle to the article surface; detecting laser energy reflected from the surface of the article; analyzing the reflected laser energy and generating data therefrom identifying flaws on the article surface; displaying a map of the flaws from the flaw identifying data showing the locations of the detected flaws on the article surface; receiving operator input of a particular flaw selected from the flaw map and in response thereto positioning the article so that the particular selected flaw is within the field of view of an optical inspection means; and optically inspecting the article surface with the inspection means at high magnification.
Claim 32
Independent Claim
143 words
A method for inspecting the surface of an article for flaws, comprising the steps of: transporting the article along a predetermined path of travel past an inspection zone while; directing a laser beam in a predetermined scan path at a relatively low angle to the article surface; detecting laser energy reflected from the surface of the article; analyzing the reflected laser energy and generating data therefrom identifying flaws on the article surface; displaying a map of the flaws from the flaw identifying data showing the locations of the detected flaws on the article surface; receiving operator input of a particular flaw selected from the flaw map and in response thereto positioning the article so that the particular selected flaw is within the field of view of an optical inspection means; and optically inspecting the article surface with the inspection means at high magnification.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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