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. 26, 2017
Filed:
Jul. 19, 2012
Applicants:
Kei Shimura, Tokyo, JP;
Tetsuya Niibori, Tokyo, JP;
Mizuki Oku, Tokyo, JP;
Naoya Nakai, Tokyo, JP;
Inventors:
Assignee:
HITACHI HIGH-TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION, Tokyo, JP;
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
H04N 7/18 (2006.01); G02B 21/36 (2006.01); G02B 21/00 (2006.01); G02B 21/10 (2006.01); G02B 21/06 (2006.01); G01N 23/22 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
G02B 21/361 (2013.01); G02B 21/0016 (2013.01); G02B 21/06 (2013.01); G02B 21/10 (2013.01); G01N 23/2206 (2013.01); G02B 21/365 (2013.01);
Abstract
The present invention allows observation or capturing of a high-contrast image of a sample for which sufficient contrast cannot be obtained in bright-field observation, such as a wafer having a pattern with a small pattern height. According to the present invention, a sample is illuminated through an objective lens used for capturing an image, and an imaging optics are provided with an aperture filter so that an image is captured while light of bright-field observation components is significantly attenuated.