Agilent Technologies, Inc.

Kla Tencor Corporation

Kla-tencor Technologies Corporation

Thermo Finnigan LLC

Other

Teraxion Inc.

Phaethon Communications

Gershon Perelman

Bin-Ming Benjamin Tsai

Christopher R Fairley

Tao-Yi Fu

Curt Alan Flory

Tong Chen

Steve Montesanto

William H Wang

Mark E Hardman

Trygve Ristroph

Adrian Land

Lee Earley

Arthur Schleifer

Stuart Carl Hansen

Rudolf C Brunner

Jeffrey Allen Moore

Guthrie Partridge

John Edgar Menear

Mehrnoosh Vahidpour

Mark Denning

Mario Pacheco

Jason Zweiback

Stephen Charles Davis

Noah Goldberg

Sergey Etchin

Michael G Konicek

Tao Yi Fu

Alexis Mendez

Bartly Carlson

Mark Hardman

Michael Konicek

An ion guide includes electrodes elongated along an axis from an entrance end to an exit end and spaced around the axis to surround an interior. The electrodes have polygonal shapes with inside surfaces disposed at a radius from the axis and having an electrode width tangential to a circle inscribed by the electrodes. An aspect ratio of the electrode width to the radius varies along the axis. The electrodes are configured to generate a two-dimensional RF electrical field in the interior having a multipole composition comprising one or more lower-order multipole components and one or more higher-order multipole components and varying along the axis in accordance with the varying aspect ratio, and having an RF voltage amplitude that varies along the axis.

Ion guide with varying multipoles

An electrostatic lens for transporting charged particles in an axial direction includes a first group of first electrodes configured to receive a first DC potential from a DC voltage source, and a second group of second electrodes configured to receive a second DC potential from the DC voltage source different from the first DC potential. The first electrodes are interdigitated with the second electrodes. The first group and/or the second group has a geometric feature that progressively varies along the axial direction. The lens generates an axial potential profile that progressively changes along the axial direction, and thereby reduces geometrical aberrations. The lens may be part of a charged particle processing apparatus such as, for example, a mass spectrometer or an electron microscope.

Axially progressive lens for transporting charged particles

A rotor is statically or dynamically balanced by driving the rotor to rotate at a desired speed, measuring an imbalance in the rotor, calculating an adjustment to be made in a mass distribution of the rotor based on the measured imbalance, and adjusting the mass distribution to reduce the imbalance. Mass adjustment is done by operating a laser to ablate material from the rotor according to operating parameters based on the adjustment calculated. The foregoing is done while the rotor is rotating.

Apparatus and method for dynamically balancing rotors

A droplet-based microfluidic device having a first confining plate, a second confining plate, and an actuator. Each confining plate includes a respective substrate and hydrophobic layer having a planar major surface. The first confining plate additionally includes a common electrode between its hydrophobic layer and substrate. The second confining plate includes an electrode array between its hydrophobic layer and substrate. The confining plates are disposed opposite one another with their major surfaces separated from one another by a gap. The actuator is to impart oscillatory sliding motion between the confining plates in a direction principally parallel to the major surfaces. The oscillatory sliding motion effectively allows voltages applied between the common electrode and the electrodes of the electrode array to move a microfluidic droplet located in the gap across the major surfaces without sticking.

Droplet actuation enhancement using oscillatory sliding motion between substrates in microfluidic devices

A mass spectrometry (MS) system may be cleaned by generating plasma and contacting an internal surface of the system to be cleaned with the plasma. The system may be switched between operating in an analytical mode and in a cleaning mode. In the analytical mode a sample is analyzed, and plasma may or may not be actively generated. In the cleaning mode the plasma is actively generated, and the sample may or may not be analyzed.

Plasma cleaning for mass spectrometers

A charged particle processing apparatus includes a vacuum chamber, an optics plate, charged particle optics mounted to the optics plate, and mounting members coupled between the optics plate and a chamber wall. The mounting members are configured for isolating the optics plate from deformation of the chamber wall, as may occur due to a pressure differential between the chamber interior and the environment outside the chamber. The isolation may prevent deformation from affecting the alignment and positioning of the charged particle optics. The charged particles may, for example, be ions or electrons. Thus, the apparatus may be utilized, for example, in analytical instruments such as for mass spectrometry, or inspection instruments such as for electron microscopy.

Isolation of charged particle optics from vacuum chamber deformations

A vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photon source includes a body, a VUV window, electrodes disposed on the body outside an interior thereof, and a dielectric barrier between the electrodes. A method for generating VUV photons includes generating a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in an interior of a photon source by applying a periodic voltage between a first electrode and a second electrode separated by a dielectric barrier, wherein the DBD produces excimers from a gas in a gap between the electrodes, and transmitting VUV photons through a window of the photon source.

Vacuum ultraviolet photon source, ionization apparatus, and related methods

Ion guides for use in mass spectrometry (MS) systems are described. The ion guides are configured to provide a reflective electrodynamic field and a direct current (DC or static) electric field to provide ion beams that are more spatially confined with a comparatively large mass range. Some ion guides are provided between the ion source and the first stage vacuum chamber of the MS system.

Radio frequency (RF) ion guide for improved performance in mass spectrometers at high pressure

Ion guides for use in mass spectrometry (MS) systems are described. The ion guides are configured to provide a reflective electrodynamic field and a direct current (DC or static) electric field to provide ion beams that are more spatially confined with a comparatively large mass range.

Radio frequency (RF) ion guide for improved performance in mass spectrometers

Auxiliary electrodes for creating drag fields may be provided as arrays of finger electrodes on thin substrates such as printed circuit board material for insertion between main RF electrodes of a multipole. A progressive range of voltages can be applied along lengths of the auxiliary electrodes by implementing a voltage divider that utilizes static resisters interconnecting individual finger electrodes of the arrays. Dynamic voltage variations may be applied to individual finger electrodes or to groups of the finger electrodes.

Auxiliary drag field electrodes

The broadband brightfield/darkfield wafer inspection system provided receives broadband brightfield illumination information via a defect detector, which signals for initiation of darkfield illumination. The defect detector forms a two dimensional histogram of the defect data and a dual mode defect decision algorithm and post processor assess defects. Darkfield radiation is provided by two adjustable height laser beams which illuminate the surface of the wafer from approximately 6 to 39 degrees. Each laser is oriented at an azimuth angle 45 degrees from the orientation of the manhattan geometry on the wafer, and 90 degrees in azimuth from one another. Vertical angular adjustability is provided by modifying cylindrical lens position to compensate for angular mirror change by translating an adjustable mirror, positioning the illumination spot into the sensor field of view, rotating and subsequently moving the cylindrical lens. A brightfield beamsplitter in the system is removable, and preferably replaced with a blank when performing darkfield illumination. Light level control for the system is provided by a dual polarizer first stage. Light exiting from the second polarizer passes through a filter which absorbs a portion of the light and comprises the second stage of light control. The beam then passes through a polarizing beamsplitter. The second channel is further reflected and polarized and both beams thereafter illuminate the substrate.

High throughput brightfield/darkfield water inspection system using advanced optical techniques

The broadband brightfield/darkfield wafer inspection system provided receives broadband brightfield illumination information via a defect detector, which signals for initiation of darkfield illumination. The defect detector forms a two dimensional histogram of the defect data and a dual mode defect decision algorithm and post processor assess defects. Darkfield radiation is provided by two adjustable height laser beams. Vertical angular adjustability is provided by modifying cylindrical lens position to compensate for angular mirror change by translating an adjustable mirror, positioning the illumination spot into the sensor field of view, rotating and subsequently moving the cylindrical lens. A brightfield beamsplitter in the system is removable, and preferably replaced with a blank when performing darkfield illumination. Light level control for the system is provided by a dual polarizer first stage.

High throughput darkfield/brightfield wafer inspection system using advanced optical techniques

The broadband brightfield/darkfield wafer inspection system provided receives broadband brightfield illumination information via a defect detector, which signals for initiation of darkfield illumination. The defect detector forms a two dimensional histogram of the defect data and a dual mode defect decision algorithm and post processor assess defects. Darkfield radiation is provided by two adjustable height laser beams. Vertical angular adjustability is provided by modifying cylindrical lens position to compensate for angular mirror change by translating an adjustable mirror, positioning the illumination spot into the sensor field of view, rotating and subsequently moving the cylindrical lens. Light level control for the system is provided by a dual polarizer first stage. Light exiting from the second polarizer passes through a filter which absorbs a portion of the light and comprises the second stage of light control.

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Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Gershon Perelman