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:
Dec. 17, 2013
Filed:
Jan. 26, 2011
Ichirota Nagahama, Koga, JP;
Ichirota Nagahama, Koga, JP;
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
According to an embodiment, a pattern inspection apparatus includes an imaging unit, a defect detection unit, and an inspection control unit. The imaging unit is configured to image a pattern on a substrate to acquire a pattern image. The defect detection unit is configured to detect a defect of the pattern by a first outer shape comparison in associate with the pattern image and design information for the pattern or by a comparison in pixel values between images of patterns designed to be formed into the same shape in the substrate. The inspection control unit is configured to select an inspection based on the amount of the defect detected by the first outer shape comparison or based on a value of a gradient of an edge profile of the pattern image and to control the imaging unit and the defect detection unit in accordance with the selected inspection.