Other

Ultrapointe Corporation

M Kent Norton

Bruce W Worster

Kexing Cecilia Du

Louis D Calitz

An improved wafer surface inspection system is disclosed. In one embodiment, the object surface inspection system includes a translation stage that generates relative motion between an object viewing device such as an objective lens and the surface of the object being inspected. A translation stage controller controls the relative movement of the object surface and the object viewing device. The translation stage controller determines current coordinates for the object surface and the object viewing device, compares the current coordinates to target coordinates generated by a processor, and generates a trigger signal in response to a match between the current coordinates to the target coordinates. A camera receives an image through the object viewing device and captures the image in response to the trigger signal while the translation stage generates relative motion between the object surface and the object viewing device. In accordance with the present invention, a white light image of an entire wafer surface may be obtained quickly and efficiently. Image processing software may then be used to identify solder bumps on the wafer surface and calculate parameters of the solder bumps. Quality control criteria may be automatically applied to the solder bump parameters to determine the suitability of the wafer for further processing, and to identify problems in wafer processing.

Method and system for inspecting the surface of a wafer

A compact hand-held viewing apparatus that automatically determines the three-dimensional direction in which it is pointing and automatically presents information to the user related to features which are visible in the field of view of the apparatus in that three-dimensional direction. Any given embodiment of the invention is intended to be used for viewing a predetermined subject matter, such as astronomical features of the night sky or geographical features of the distant terrain. Included within the apparatus is a database with data about the predetermined subject matter correlated with three-dimensional direction. The apparatus is configured to provide data from the database in real time to the user as the user observes the field of view in a selected three-dimensional direction. If the user points the apparatus in a different three-dimensional direction, the direction-sensing mechanism determines the new direction, and the apparatus updates the data presented to the user to correspond to the new direction. The illustrated apparatus includes a visual display mechanism which presents data from the database to the user in the form of a visual reference display superimposed on the field of view so that the user may observe the actual view and the reference display at the same time. The image or text displayed in the reference display depends on the three-dimensional direction in which the apparatus is pointing. The apparatus includes appropriate processing circuitry for processing the three-dimensional directional data from the sensing mechanism and updating the reference display.

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Los Gatos, CA, United States of America

M Kent Norton