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. 17, 2006
Filed:
Aug. 31, 2004
John Hanson, Mountain View, CA (US);
Jonathan Frank, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Dario Meluzzi, Mountain View, CA (US);
Daniel Cotton, Walnut Creek, CA (US);
John Hanson, Mountain View, CA (US);
Jonathan Frank, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Dario Meluzzi, Mountain View, CA (US);
Daniel Cotton, Walnut Creek, CA (US);
Credence Systems Corporation, Milpitas, CA (US);
Abstract
A landing system is provided for accurate placing of collection optics in a microscope. In one example, a solid immersion lens (SIL) is used for light collection, and the landing system is operated to place the SIL in contact with an IC. A proximity sensor is used for determining the SIL's position with respect to the IC. The arrangement is attached to a z-motion stage. During the placement procedure, the navigation is performed in steps and at each step the compression of the SIL is measured relative to its uncompressed state. When a measured compression exceeds a preset threshold, a SIL landing is recognized. In one example, after a landing is recognized, a further compression is imparted to the SIL in order to place the SIL in a focusing distance to the objective lens.