Graphical automated machine control and metrology
AssigneeFEI Company
InventorsDavid Tasker, Henri Lezec, David Head
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A graphical programming system allows a user to place geometric shapes onto a scaled image, the shape having associated behavior that operates on the image or on the object of which the image is formed. In a preferred embodiment, the shapes are objects in the Visio program by Microsoft Corporation. The shapes are dragged from a stencil onto an image provided by ion beam or electron microscope image. The shape invokes software or hardware to locate and measure features on the image or to perform operations, such as ion beam milling, on the object that is imaged.
Claims20
A method of controlling a system, comprising:
- creating or obtaining an image having;
- overlaying the image with a computer-generated graphic component having associated functionality;
- coordinating the scale of the image with that of the graphic components;
- and
- executing the functionality associated with the graphic component, the action of the graphic component being defined at least in part by its geometric characteristics, the action being performed on a portion of the image, or on an object corresponding to the image, corresponding to the portion overlaid by the graphic component.
A method of performing operations on an image or on an imaged object, comprising:
- obtaining an image;
- placing a first shape on the image, the first shape associated with executable pattern recognition computer instructions;
- executing the executable pattern recognition computer instructions to locate a first feature;
- repositioning the first shape in a location corresponding to the location of the first feature;
- placing a second shape on the image, the position of the second shape being determined by the location of the first shape and the second shape being associated with second executable pattern recognition computer instructions;
- executing the second shape to locate a second feature;
- placing a third shape on the image, the third shape specifying an operation the results of which are directly or indirectly dependent upon the positions of the first shape and the second shape.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.