The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 28, 2018
Filed:
Jun. 16, 2016
Kla-tencor Corporation, Milpitas, CA (US);
Jamie Sullivan, Eugene, OR (US);
Wenjian Cai, Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Yevgeniy Churin, San Jose, CA (US);
Ralph Johnson, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Meier Yitzhak Brender, Monte Sereno, CA (US);
Mark Shi Wang, San Ramon, CA (US);
Rex Runyon, Fremont, CA (US);
Kai Cao, Fremont, CA (US);
KLA-Tencor Corporation, Milpitas, CA (US);
Abstract
A method of scanning a sample includes simultaneously forming a plurality of co-linear scans. Each scan is formed by a sweep of a spot by an acousto-optical device (AOD). The co-linear scans are separated by a predetermined spacing. A first plurality of swaths are formed by repeating the simultaneous forming of the plurality of co-linear scans in a direction perpendicular to the co-linear scans. The first plurality of swaths have an inter-swath spacing that is the same as the predetermined spacing. The predetermined spacing can be a scan length or an integral number of scan lengths. A second plurality of swaths can be formed adjacent to the first plurality of swaths. Forming the second plurality of swaths can be performed in an opposite direction to that of the first plurality of swaths or in a same direction. An inspection system can implement this method by including a diffractive optical element (DOE) path after a magnification changer.