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:
May. 18, 2004
Filed:
Apr. 17, 2002
S. Daniel Miller, Gilroy, CA (US);
N. William Parker, Fairfield, CA (US);
Steven B. Hobmann, Thousand Oaks, CA (US);
Multibeam Systems, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
An image processing system for use in semiconductor wafer inspection comprises a multiplicity of self-contained image processors for independently performing image cross-correlation and defect detection. The system may also comprise an image normalization engine for performing image brightness and contrast normalization. The self-contained image processors and image normalization engine access image data from a memory array; the array is fed data from a multiplicity of imaging modules operating in parallel. The memory array is configured to allow simultaneous access for data input, normalization, and cross-correlation and defect detection. Multiple image processing systems can be configured in parallel as a single image processing computer, all sending defect data to a common display module.