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:
Feb. 19, 2013
Filed:
Aug. 31, 2009
Leslie L. Deck, Middletown, CT (US);
Peter DE Groot, Middletown, CT (US);
Mark Davidson, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Jan Liesener, Middletown, CT (US);
Xavier Colonna DE Lega, Middlefield, CT (US);
Leslie L. Deck, Middletown, CT (US);
Peter De Groot, Middletown, CT (US);
Mark Davidson, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Jan Liesener, Middletown, CT (US);
Xavier Colonna De Lega, Middlefield, CT (US);
Zygo Corporation, Middlefield, CT (US);
Abstract
Apparatus include a microscope including an objective and a stage for positioning a test object relative to the objective, the stage being moveable with respect to the objective, and a sensor system, that includes a sensor light source, an interferometric sensor configured to receive light from the sensor light source, to introduce an optical path difference (OPD) between a first portion and a second portion of the light, the OPD being related to a distance between the objective lens and the stage, and to combine the first and second portions of the light to provide output light, a detector configured to detect the output light from the interferometric sensor, a fiber waveguide configured to direct light between the sensor light source, the interferometric sensor and the detector, a tunable optical cavity in a path of the light from the sensor light source and the interferometric sensor, and an electronic controller in communication with the detector, the electronic controller being configured to determine information related to the OPD based on the detected output light.