Variable Density Scanning
AssigneeAsylum Research Corporation
InventorsRoger B. Proksch, Roger C. Callahan
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Systems and techniques for varying a scan rate in a measurement instrument. The techniques may be used in scanning probe instruments, including atomic force microscopes (AFMs) and other scanning probe microscopes, as well as profilometers and confocal optical microscopes. This allows the selective imaging of particular regions of a sample surface for accurate measurement of critical dimensions within a relatively small data acquisition time.
Claims33
A method of controlling a cantilever based scanning instrument that determines information about a measured surface, comprising:
- scanning the cantilever across the measured surface in first and second orthogonal directions across the surface, while obtaining scan information from said first orthogonal direction, and where said scanning in said first direction uses at least a first scanning speed configured to obtain first data at a first data density in a first region of the sample and a second scanning speed configured to obtain second data at a second data density less than the first data density in a second region of the sample, and
- using said first data and said second data in a measurement device to obtain sampled information about said surface.
A cantilever based scanning instrument that determines information about a measured surface, comprising:
- a cantilever;
- a cantilever scanning device scanning the cantilever relative to the measured surface according to a scanning control signal;
- a controller, creating said scanning control signal to scan the cantilever in first and second orthogonal directions across the surface, while obtaining scan information from said first orthogonal direction, and where said scanning in said first direction uses at least a first scanning speed configured to obtain first data at a first data density in a first region of the sample and a second scanning speed configured to obtain second data at a second data density less than the first data density in a second region of the sample;
- and
- a measurement device to obtain sampled information about said surface based on said first data and said second data.
An article comprising a non-transitory machine-readable medium embodying information indicative of instructions that when performed by one or more machines result in computer implemented operations comprising:
- scanning the cantilever across a surface in first and second orthogonal directions across the surface, while obtaining scan information from said first orthogonal direction, and where said scanning in said first direction uses at least a first scanning speed configured to obtain first data at a first data density in a first region of the sample and a second scanning speed configured to obtain second data at a second data density less than the first data density in a second region of the sample, and
- using said first data and said second data in a measurement device to obtain sampled information about said surface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.