Patents by Inventor Craig W. MacNaughton

Craig W. MacNaughton has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Method and device for using substrate geometry to determine optimum substrate analysis sampling
    Patent number: 9588441
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for process control in the processing of a substrate is disclosed in the present invention. Embodiments of the present invention utilize a first analysis tool to determine changes in a substrate's geometry. The substrate geometry data is used to generate sampling plan that will be used to check areas of the substrate that are likely to have errors after processing. The sampling plan is fed forwards to a second analysis tool that samples the substrate after it has been processed. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract that will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2012
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2017
    Assignee: KLA-TENCOR CORPORATION
    Inventors: Craig W. MacNaughton, Jaydeep K. Sinha
  • METHOD AND DEVICE FOR USING SUBSTRATE GEOMETRY TO DETERMINE OPTIMUM SUBSTRATE ANALYSIS SAMPLING
    Publication number: 20130310966
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for process control in the processing of a substrate is disclosed in the present invention. Embodiments of the present invention utilize a first analysis tool to determine changes in a substrate's geometry. The substrate geometry data is used to generate sampling plan that will be used to check areas of the substrate that are likely to have errors after processing. The sampling plan is fed forwards to a second analysis tool that samples the substrate after it has been processed. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract that will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 18, 2012
    Publication date: November 21, 2013
    Applicant: KLA-Tencor Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Craig W. MacNaughton, Jaydeep K. Sinha