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:
Apr. 18, 2017
Filed:
Jul. 17, 2015
Nuflare Technology, Inc., Yokohama, JP;
NuFlare Technology, Inc., Yokohama, JP;
Abstract
In a mask inspection apparatus, an optical image acquisition unit acquires an optical image of a pattern in a mask by irradiating light. A reference image generation unit generates a corresponding reference image. A defect detection unit detects a defect of the pattern by comparing the two images. A misplacement data processing unit obtains a misplacement amount of the pattern from the images, and generates misplacement data. A misplacement map processing unit generates and outputs the map to the defect detection unit. The defect detection unit includes, a first comparison unit for comparing the images, a threshold value reconfiguring unit for specifying a portion of the map corresponding to the defect detected, reconfiguring a threshold value according to the shape of the defect and the misplacement direction of the optical image of the specified portion, and a second comparison unit for re-comparing both images using the reconfigured threshold value.