US Patent No: 7,796,801
Number of patents in Portfolio can not be more than 2000
Pattern inspection apparatus and method
Stats
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Sep 14, 2010
Issued date -
May 17, 2006
filing date -
11/434,797
serial no -
In Force
status
Importance
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Abstract
A fine pattern, such as a semiconductor integrated circuit (LSI), a liquid crystal panel, and a photomask (reticle) for the semiconductor or the liquid crystal panel, which are fabricated based on data for fabricating the fine pattern such as design data is inspected by a pattern inspection apparatus. The pattern inspection apparatus for inspecting a pattern to-be-inspected uses an image of the pattern to-be-inspected and data for fabricating the pattern to-be-inspected. The pattern inspection apparatus includes a reference pattern generation device configured to generate a reference pattern represented by one or more lines from the data, an image generation device configured to generate the image of the pattern to-be-inspected, a detecting device configured to detect an edge of the image of the pattern to-be-inspected, and an inspection device configured to inspect the pattern to-be-inspected by comparing the edge of the image of the pattern to-be-inspected with the one or more lines of the reference pattern.
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First Claim
Related Publications
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International Classification(s)
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Cited Art
| Patent Info | (Count) | # Cites | Year |
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| 6,049,895 Failure analyzer with distributed data processing network and method used therein | 16 | 1997 | |
| 6,040,911 Reference image forming method and pattern inspection apparatus | 21 | 1998 | |
| 6,356,300 Automatic visual inspection apparatus automatic visual inspection method and recording medium having recorded an automatic visual inspection program | 26 | 1999 | |
| 6,504,947 Method and apparatus for multi-level rounding and pattern inspection | 15 | 1999 | |
| 6,400,839 Reticle inspecting apparatus capable of shortening an inspecting time | 12 | 1999 | |
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| 5,051,585 Apparatus and method of pattern detection based on a scanning transmission electron microscope | 40 | 1989 | |
| 5,801,965 Method and system for manufacturing semiconductor devices, and method and system for inspecting semiconductor devices | 132 | 1994 | |
| 6,047,083 Method of and apparatus for pattern inspection | 49 | 1998 | |
| 6,546,308 Method and system for manufacturing semiconductor devices, and method and system for inspecting semiconductor devices | 26 | 2001 | |
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| 5,046,113 Method of and apparatus for detecting pattern defects by means of a plurality of inspecting units each operating in accordance with a respective inspecting principle | 34 | 1989 | |
| 5,379,350 Method and apparatus for extracting a contour of an image | 24 | 1993 | |
| 5,764,793 Method of and apparatus for inspecting pattern defects | 15 | 1995 | |
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| 4,589,139 Apparatus for detecting defects in pattern | 27 | 1983 | |
| 5,046,109 Pattern inspection apparatus | 75 | 1990 | |
| 5,479,537 Image processing method and apparatus | 25 | 1992 | |
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| 7,206,443 Apparatus and methods for the inspection of objects | 22 | 2000 | |
| 7,181,059 Apparatus and methods for the inspection of objects | 17 | 2003 | |
| 7,388,978 Apparatus and methods for the inspection of objects | 14 | 2003 | |
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| 5,137,362 Automatic package inspection method | 26 | 1990 | |
| 5,129,009 Method for automatic semiconductor wafer inspection | 48 | 1990 | |
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| 4,805,123 Automatic photomask and reticle inspection method and apparatus including improved defect detector and alignment sub-systems | 193 | 1986 | |
| 5,563,702 Automated photomask inspection apparatus and method | 182 | 1994 | |
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| 6,023,530 Vector correlation system for automatically locating patterns in an image | 62 | 1995 | |
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| 6,539,106 Feature-based defect detection | 91 | 1999 | |
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| 4,583,854 High resolution electronic automatic imaging and inspecting system | 22 | 1983 | |
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| 5,796,868 Object edge point filtering system for machine vision | 68 | 1995 | |
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| 5,600,734 Electron beam tester | 21 | 1994 | |
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| 5,398,292 Edge detecting apparatus | 79 | 1993 | |
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| 5,574,800 Pattern defect inspection method and apparatus | 36 | 1994 | |
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| 6,222,935 Pattern inspecting method and pattern inspecting device | 22 | 1999 | |
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| 5,270,796 Apparatus for inspecting a phase shift mask | 17 | 1991 | |
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| 6,868,175 Pattern inspection apparatus, pattern inspection method, and recording medium | 53 | 2000 | |
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| 6,399,953 Scanning electronic microscope and method for automatically observing semiconductor wafer | 9 | 1999 | |
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| 6,535,621 Defect integrated processing apparatus and method thereof | 15 | 1999 | |
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| 5,533,144 Anti-counterfeit pattern detector and method | 41 | 1994 | |
Patent Citation Ranking
Maintenance Fees
| Fee | Large entity fee | small entity fee | micro entity fee | due date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Year Payment | $1600.00 | $800.00 | $400.00 | Mar 14, 2014 |
| 7.5 Year Payment | $3600.00 | $1800.00 | $900.00 | Mar 14, 2018 |
| 11.5 Year Payment | $7400.00 | $3700.00 | $1850.00 | Mar 14, 2022 |
| Fee | Large entity fee | small entity fee | micro entity fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Surcharge - 3.5 year - Late payment within 6 months | $160.00 | $80.00 | $40.00 |
| Surcharge - 7.5 year - Late payment within 6 months | $160.00 | $80.00 | $40.00 |
| Surcharge - 11.5 year - Late payment within 6 months | $160.00 | $80.00 | $40.00 |
| Surcharge after expiration - Late payment is unavoidable | $700.00 | $350.00 | $175.00 |
| Surcharge after expiration - Late payment is unintentional | $1,640.00 | $820.00 | $410.00 |