Apparatus and method for fabricating flat workpieces

Apparatus for optically inspecting a substantially planar surface of an article, comprising:

• an inspection region;
• an illuminator configuration to selectably illuminate a substantially planar surface of an article located in the inspection region with one of at least two predetermined configurations of illumination, a first configuration of illumination providing dark field illumination and a second configuration of illumination providing bright field illumination;
• an image acquisition sub-system comprising at least one camera having a two dimensional field of view for acquiring images of generally the entire surface of the article when illuminated by at least one of said predetermined configurations of illumination;
• and
• an image analysis subsystem for computer analysis of the images and detecting anomalies in the surface as a function of variations in reflected intensities of illumination.

Apparatus for coating an article having a substantially planar surface, comprising:

• a coating generator operative to generate a coating on a surface of the article;
• an illuminator configured to selectably illuminate said surface bearing said coating with one of at least two predetermined configurations of illumination, a first configuration of illumination providing dark field illumination and a second configuration of illumination providing bright field illumination;
• an image acquisition sub-system comprising at least one sensor having a two dimensional field of view for acquiring images of generally the entire surface of the article for each combination of illumination;
• and
• an image analysis subsystem for analyzing the images and detecting anomalies in the surface on the basis of variations in reflected intensities of illumination.

A method for inspecting objects comprising:

• a) viewing a first location on an object using an optical array comprising a staring array sensor;
• b) sequentially illuminating said first location with dark field and bright field illumination when said optical array views said object;
• and
• c) repeating operations (a) and (b) to obtain images illuminated by said dark field and bright field illumination for additional locations together comprising substantially the entire object.

A method for optically inspecting the surface of an article having a substantially planar surface, comprising:

• a) defining an inspection region;
• b) sequentially illuminating a surface of an article located in the inspection region with at least two predetermined configurations of illumination, a first configuration of illumination providing dark field illumination and a second configuration of illumination providing bright field illumination;
• c) acquiring images of the surface of the article when illuminated by at least one predetermined configuration of illumination using at least one staring array camera;
• d) moving said article or said camera so that a next part of said surface is located in said inspection region and repeating operations (b) & (c) until images of substantially all of said surface are acquired;
• and
• e) analyzing the images and detecting anomalies in the surface as a function of variations in reflected intensities of illumination.

A method for coating an article having a substantially planar surface, comprising:

• generating a coating on a surface of the article;
• sequentially illuminating said surface bearing said coating with at least two predetermined configurations of illumination, a first configuration of illumination providing dark field illumination and a second configuration of illumination providing bright field illumination;
• acquiring images of the surface of the article for each combination of illumination using at least one staring array sensor;
• and
• analyzing the images and detecting anomalies in the surface on the basis of variations in reflected intensities of illumination.

A method for inspecting the surface of an article, comprising the steps of:

• placing the article in an inspection region defined by a stage;
• illuminating a portion of the surface of the article with at least one configuration of dark field illumination;
• acquiring at least one image illuminated under said at least one configuration of dark field illumination, said at least one image covering substantially the entire surface;
• illuminating the surface with at least one configuration of at least substantially bright field illumination;
• acquiring at least one image, said at least one image covering substantially the entire surface, illuminated under said at least one configuration of at least substantially bright field illumination;
• and
• analyzing the images by computer to determine non uniformities in reflected intensities.

A method for coating the surface of an article with a film, comprising:

• depositing a film coating on at least part of a surface of the article;
• placing the article in an inspection region;
• illuminating a portion of the coated surface of the article with at least one configuration of dark field illumination;
• acquiring an image of the surface illuminated by the at least one configuration of dark field illumination;
• illuminating the surface with at least one configuration of substantially bright field illumination;
• acquiring an image of the entire surface illuminate by the least one configuration of substantially bright field illumination;
• and
• analyzing each image by computer to determine non uniformities in reflected intensities.