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:
Nov. 06, 2012
Filed:
Feb. 22, 2011
Applicants:
Shigeru Matsui, Hitachinaka, JP;
Masayuki Hachiya, Tokorozawa, JP;
Inventors:
Shigeru Matsui, Hitachinaka, JP;
Masayuki Hachiya, Tokorozawa, JP;
Assignee:
Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01N 21/88 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
Abstract
Light from a light source becomes two illumination beams by a beam splitter. The beams are irradiated onto a semiconductor wafer from two mutually substantially orthogonal azimuthal angles having substantially equal elevation angles to form illumination spots. When the sum of scattered, diffracted, and reflected lights due to the illumination beams is detected, influence of the anisotropy which a contaminant particle and a defect existing in the wafer itself or thereon have with respect to an illumination direction, can be eliminated.