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. 27, 2016
Filed:
Apr. 24, 2014
Nikon Corporation, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, JP;
Michael R. Sogard, Menlo Park, CA (US);
Motofusa Ishikawa, Ageo, JP;
Nikon Corporation, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
Apparatus are disclosed for measuring the position of an object surface along an axis. An exemplary apparatus has at least one actuator coupled to a fixed member such as a metrology frame. At least one analog proximity sensor is coupled to the at least one actuator. The at least one actuator is controllably operated to position the at least one proximity sensor at a fixed distance along the axis from a surface that is fixed relative to the fixed me+mber. A controller, coupled to the actuator and to the proximity sensor, is configured to compute a position of the object surface along the axis based on a known location of the fixed surface along the axis, the fixed distance from the fixed surface, and position signals from the at least one proximity sensor.