# US 12,215,966 B2 · Methods and systems of optical inspection of electronic device manufacturing machines > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,215,966 B2 - Document ID: US12215966B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/247,241 - Filed: 2020-12-04 - Published: 2021-06-10 - Granted: 2025-02-04 - Earliest claimed: 2019-12-06 - Assignees: Applied Materials, Inc. - Applicants: Applied Materials, Inc. - Inventors: Mohsin Waqar; Paul Zachary Wirth; Todd James Brill; Paul Edward Fisher; Ilias Iliopoulos; Charles Gregory Potter, Sr. - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12215966B2 ## CPC - G01B 11/14: for measuring distance or clearance between spaced objects or spaced apertures (G01B11/26 takes precedence; rangefinders G01C3/00) - G01B 11/026: {by measuring distance between sensor and object (G01B11/0608 takes precedence)} - G01B 11/0608: {Height gauges} - G01B 11/0683: {measurement during deposition or removal of the layer} - G01B 11/24: for measuring contours or curvatures - H10P 72/0604: {Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring} - H10P 72/0616: {Monitoring of warpages, curvatures, damages, defects or the like} - H10P 72/33: {into and out of processing chamber} - H10P 72/7611: {characterised by edge profile or support profile} - H10P 72/7612: {characterised by lifting arrangements, e.g. lift pins} - H10P 74/203: {Structural properties, e.g. testing or measuring thicknesses, line widths, warpage, bond strengths or physical defects} - B25J 11/0055: {Cutting} - G01B: MEASURING LENGTH, THICKNESS OR SIMILAR LINEAR DIMENSIONS; MEASURING ANGLES; MEASURING AREAS; MEASURING IRREGULARITIES OF SURFACES OR CONTOURS - H10P: GENERIC PROCESSES OR APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OR TREATMENT OF DEVICES COVERED BY CLASS H10 - B25J: MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES ({manipulators specially adapted for use in surgery A61B34/70; manipulators used in cleaning hollow articles B08B9/04}; manipulators associated with rolling mills B21B39/20; manipulators associated with forging machines B21J13/10; {manipulators associated with picking-up and placing mechanisms B23P19/007}; means for holding wheels or parts thereof B60B30/00; {vehicles with ground-engaging propulsion means, e.g. walking members B62D57/02, B62D57/032; devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials between conveyors B65G47/90, B65G47/91; manipulators with gripping or holding means for transferring packages B65H67/065}; cranes B66C; {manipulators used in the protection or supervision of pipe-line installations F17D5/00; walking equipment adapted for nuclear steam-generators F22B37/006}; manipulators specially adapted for, or associated with, nuclear reactors G21C; {apparatus used for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor H10P72/50}) ## Abstract Implementations disclosed describe an inspection device capable of being transferred by a robot blade into a processing chamber of a manufacturing machine, the inspection device comprising an optical sensor to detect light reflected from a target located within the processing chamber, wherein the optical sensor is to output, to a processing device, a signal representative of a state of a region of a surface of the target. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An inspection device capable of being transferred by a robot blade into a processing chamber, the inspection device comprising: one or more optical sensors, wherein each of the one or more optical sensors comprises a light source to generate sensing light and a light detector to detect light reflected from a plurality of locations of a target located within the processing chamber, and wherein the one or more optical sensors output, to a processing device, a plurality of time-mapped signals representative of a state of the plurality of locations of the target; and a controller configured to: map each of the plurality of time-mapped signals to a respective location of the plurality of locations of the target using a speed of the robot blade. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The inspection device of claim 1, wherein the light source and the light detector are arranged in a triangulation distance detection configuration, and wherein the light detector is configured to generate direction-dependent reflected light intensity data. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The inspection device of claim 1, wherein the inspection device is configured to wirelessly communicate the plurality of time-mapped signals to a wireless receiver. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The inspection device of claim 1, further comprising an engagement feature capable of being engaged to the robot blade when the robot blade imparts rotation to the inspection device relative to an axis of the inspection device to reposition the one or more optical sensors relative to the target. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The inspection device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to output the plurality of time-mapped signals based on a speed of the robot blade and a pre-determined resolution of the plurality of locations of the target. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The inspection device of claim 1, wherein the one or more optical sensors output the plurality of time-mapped signals with a rate of at least 500 Hz. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The inspection device of claim 1, wherein the one or more optical sensors output the plurality of time-mapped signals with a rate of at least 1000 Hz. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The inspection device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to set a speed of the robot blade based on at least: a time resolution of the plurality of time-mapped signals, and a target spatial resolution of the plurality of locations of the target. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The inspection device of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to control a degree of rotation of the inspection device on the robot blade relative to an axis of the inspection device. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The inspection device of claim 1, wherein the light source and the light detector are arranged in a configuration in which the plurality of time-mapped signals are representative of a horizontal profile of the target. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The inspection device of claim 10, wherein the plurality of time-mapped signals characterizes the horizontal profile of the target, each of the time-mapped signals comprising a horizontal dimension of the target at a respective one of the plurality of locations of the target. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The inspection device of claim 1, wherein the light source and the light detector are arranged in a configuration in which the plurality of time-mapped signals are representative of a vertical profile of the target. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The inspection device of claim 12, wherein the plurality of time-mapped signals are output at a rate associated with a speed of a motion of the inspection device within the processing chamber. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The inspection device of claim 12, wherein the plurality of time-mapped signals characterizes the vertical profile of the target, each of the time-mapped signals comprising a vertical dimension of the target at a respective one of the plurality of locations of the target.