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:
Jan. 21, 2025
Filed:
Jul. 02, 2020
Nikon Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
Eric Peter Goodwin, Oro Valley, AZ (US);
Heather Lynn Durko, Tucson, AZ (US);
Daniel Gene Smith, Tucson, AZ (US);
Johnathan Agustin Marquez, San Francisco, CA (US);
Michael Birk Binnard, Belmont, CA (US);
Patrick Shih Chang, San Francisco, CA (US);
Matthew Parker-McCormick Bjork, Oakland, CA (US);
Paul Derek Coon, Redwood City, CA (US);
Brett William Herr, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Motofusa Ishikawa, Ageo, JP;
Nikon Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
3D metrology techniques are disclosed for determining a changing topography of a substrate processed in an additive manufacturing system. Techniques include fringe scanning, simultaneous fringe projections, interferometry, and x-ray imaging. The techniques can be applied to 3D printing systems to enable rapid topographical measurements of a 3D printer powder bed, or other rapidly moving, nearly continuous surface to be tested. The techniques act in parallel to the system being measured to provide information about system operation and the topography of the product being processed. A tool is provided for achieving higher precision, increasing throughput, and reducing the cost of operation through early detection and diagnosis of operating problems and printing defects. These techniques work well with any powder bed 3D printing system, providing real-time metrology of the powder bed, the most recently printed layer, or both without reducing throughput.