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:
Sep. 19, 2017
Filed:
Aug. 25, 2015
Kla-tencor Corporation, Milpitas, CA (US);
David L. Brown, Los Gatos, CA (US);
Yung-Ho Alex Chuang, Cupertino, CA (US);
John Fielden, Los Altos, CA (US);
Marcel Trimpl, San Jose, CA (US);
Jingjing Zhang, San Jose, CA (US);
Devis Contarato, San Carlos, CA (US);
Venkatraman Iyer, Saratoga, CA (US);
KLA-Tencor Corporation, Milpitas, CA (US);
Abstract
A scanning electron microscope incorporates a multi-pixel solid-state electron detector. The multi-pixel solid-state detector may detect back-scattered and/or secondary electrons. The multi-pixel solid-state detector may incorporate analog-to-digital converters and other circuits. The multi-pixel solid state detector may be capable of approximately determining the energy of incident electrons and/or may contain circuits for processing or analyzing the electron signals. The multi-pixel solid state detector is suitable for high-speed operation such as at a speed of about 100 MHz or higher. The scanning electron microscope may be used for reviewing, inspecting or measuring a sample such as unpatterned semiconductor wafer, a patterned semiconductor wafer, a reticle or a photomask. A method of reviewing or inspecting a sample is also described.