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:
Jul. 05, 2011
Filed:
Nov. 19, 2010
Hiroyuki Nakano, Chigasaki, JP;
Akira Hamamatsu, Yokohama, JP;
Sachio Uto, Yokohama, JP;
Yoshimasa Oshima, Yokohama, JP;
Hidetoshi Nishiyama, Hitachinaka, JP;
Yuta Urano, Yokohama, JP;
Shunji Maeda, Yokohama, JP;
Hiroyuki Nakano, Chigasaki, JP;
Akira Hamamatsu, Yokohama, JP;
Sachio Uto, Yokohama, JP;
Yoshimasa Oshima, Yokohama, JP;
Hidetoshi Nishiyama, Hitachinaka, JP;
Yuta Urano, Yokohama, JP;
Shunji Maeda, Yokohama, JP;
Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A defect inspection apparatus includes a movable stage for mounting a substrate having circuit patterns as an object of inspection, an irradiation optical system which irradiates a slit-shaped light beam from an oblique direction to the circuit patterns of the substrate, a detection optical system which includes an image sensor for receiving reflected/scattered light from the substrate by irradiation of the slit-shaped light beam and converting the received light into a signal, and an image processor which processes the signal. The irradiation optical system includes a cylindrical lens and a coherency reduction optical system, which receives the light beam and emits a plurality of slit-shaped light sub-beams which are spatially reduced in coherency in a light-converging direction of the cylindrical lens. The cylindrical lens focuses the plurality of slit-shaped light sub-beams into the slit-shaped light beam irradiated to the surface of the substrate.