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:
Oct. 24, 2023
Filed:
Jul. 16, 2021
Oxford Instruments Nanotechnology Tools Limited, Oxon, GB;
Abstract
A system for preventing collisions between components in a particle beam instrument is disclosed. The system is particularly beneficial in use with instruments wherein moveable components are used within a chamber that obscures them from being viewed from outside the chamber. The system comprises: a capacitance sensor configured to monitor the capacitance between a first component and a second component of the instrument, and a proximity module configured to: derive a capacitance parameter from the monitored capacitance between the first component and the second component; and output a proximity alert signal in accordance with a comparison between the derived capacitance parameter and a predetermined capacitance parameter threshold value.