Patents by Inventor Hirohito Okuda
Hirohito Okuda 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).
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Publication number: 20060038986Abstract: A method to solve the problem of a technique generally used to detect a defect of a semiconductor by calculating the differential image based on pattern matching, which requires that a reference image must be picked up to pick up an image of the inspection position in an area with the semiconductor pattern having no periodicity, resulting in a low throughput. The image of the inspection position is divided into local areas, each local area is matched with the local area of the image already stored and the difference between the local areas thus matched is determined to extract a defect area.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 11, 2005Publication date: February 23, 2006Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Toshifumi Honda, Yuji Takagi, Hirohito Okuda
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Patent number: 6965429Abstract: A method to solve the problem of a technique generally used to detect a defect of a semiconductor by calculating the differential image based on pattern matching, which requires that a reference image must be picked up to pick up an image of the inspection position in an area with the semiconductor pattern having no periodicity, resulting in a low throughput. The image of the inspection position is divided into local areas, each local area is matched with the local area of the image already stored and the difference between the local areas thus matched is determined to extract area.Type: GrantFiled: August 19, 2002Date of Patent: November 15, 2005Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Toshifumi Honda, Yuji Takagi, Hirohito Okuda
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Publication number: 20050194533Abstract: A method of observing a specimen using a scanning electron microscope, makes it possible to shorten the time required to perform automatic focusing at the time of semiconductor defect automatic review and improves the throughput in the processing in which the specimen is observed. In the above method, the specimen is imaged at a low resolution by the scanning electron microscope to obtain an image, an area for imaging the specimen at a high resolution is specified from the image acquired at the low resolution, the specimen is imaged at a high resolution by the scanning electron microscope to determine a focus position, a focal point of the scanning electron microscope is set to the determined focus position, and a high resolution image in the specified area is acquired in a state in which the focus position has been set to the determined focus position.Type: ApplicationFiled: December 27, 2004Publication date: September 8, 2005Inventors: Hirohito Okuda, Toshifumi Honda, Kazuo Aoki, Kohei Yamaguchi, Masashi Sakamoto
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Publication number: 20050121612Abstract: An apparatus and a method for automatically inspecting a defect by an electron beam using an X-ray detector. The composition of a defective portion is analyzed with higher rapidity and the cause of the defect is easily and accurately determined based on an X-ray spectrum. The X-ray spectrum and the image of foreign particles formed on a process QC wafer are registered as reference data, and the defects generated on a process wafer are classified by collation with the reference data. The use of both the X-ray spectrum and the detected image optimizes the operating conditions for X-ray detection. A defect of which the X ray is to be detected is selected based on the result of classification of defect images automatically collected, and the defect is classified according to the features including both the composition and the external appearance.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 24, 2005Publication date: June 9, 2005Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Hirohito Okuda, Yuji Takagi, Toshifumi Honda
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Publication number: 20050051725Abstract: It is possible to reliably and efficiently determine whether a specimen contains viruses, bacteria, etc. and, if it does, identify their types, regardless of the observer. Furthermore, even a newly-discovered bacterium can be quickly identified by utilizing a database at a remote location. A transmission microscope system has a microscope for observing a specimen and a database which stores, for each microscopic thing (such as a virus), a name, a specimen pretreatment method and an imaging condition used when the microscopic thing is observed, captured image data, etc. An image of the specimen is captured according to a specimen pretreatment method and an imaging condition retrieved from the database using the name of a target microscopic thing as a key, and the captured image is compared with images stored in the database to identify microscopic things present in the specimen.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 16, 2004Publication date: March 10, 2005Inventors: Ryo Nakagaki, Yuji Takagi, Hirohito Okuda, Hiroshi Kakibayashi
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Patent number: 6855930Abstract: An apparatus and a method for automatically inspecting a defect by an electron beam using an X-ray detector. The composition of a defective portion is analyzed with higher rapidity and the cause of the defect is easily and accurately determined based on an X-ray spectrum. The X-ray spectrum and the image of foreign particles formed on a process QC wafer are registered as reference data, and the defects generated on a process wafer are classified by collation with the reference data. The use of both the X-ray spectrum and the detected image optimizes the operating conditions for X-ray detection. A defect of which the X ray is to be detected is selected based on the result of classification of defect images automatically collected, and the defect is classified according to the features including both the composition and the external appearance.Type: GrantFiled: September 27, 2002Date of Patent: February 15, 2005Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Hirohito Okuda, Yuji Takagi, Toshifumi Honda
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Publication number: 20040252878Abstract: A classification model optimum for realization of a defect classification request by a user is not known by the user. Then, the user sets a classification model which is not necessarily suitable and makes classification, resulting in degradation in classification performance. Therefore, the present invention automatically generates plural potential classification models and combines class likelihoods calculated from the plural classification models to classify. To combine, an index about the adequacy of each model, in other words, an index indicating a reliable level of likelihood calculated from the each potential classification model, is also calculated. Considering the calculated result, the class likelihoods calculated from the plural classification models are combined to execute classification.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 26, 2004Publication date: December 16, 2004Inventors: Hirohito Okuda, Yuji Takagi, Toshifumi Honda, Atsushi Miyamoto, Takehiro Hirai
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Publication number: 20040234120Abstract: With little efforts, to estimate the appropriateness of automatic defect classification, and to make classification criteria settable with a guarantee for the better classification performance, defects unknown with their classification classes are classified based on two different classification criteria. Also, defects differed in classification results are collected, and each thereto, a defect classification class is provided by using a manual. Then, the defects provided with the classification classes are divided into two types of groups: one is a setting group for the classification criteria; and the other is an evaluation group. Based on the classification criteria that is so set as to classify the defects included in the setting group with the maximum performance, the classification performance of a case where classification is applied to defects included in the evaluation group is calculated, and the appropriateness of thus set classification criteria is evaluated.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 4, 2004Publication date: November 25, 2004Applicant: Hitachi High-Technologies CorporationInventors: Toshifumi Honda, Atsushi Miyamoto, Hirohito Okuda
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Publication number: 20040218806Abstract: The present invention provides a method of classifying defects, comprising the steps of: inspecting a sample to detect defects; acquiring an image of the detected defects; extracting feature amounts of the defects from the acquired defect image; and classifying said detected defects with a defect classifier that uses the acquired feature amount information about the defects; wherein said classifier has a decision tree for hierarchically expanding defect class elements via branch elements, and wherein classification rules are individually set for said branch elements.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 20, 2004Publication date: November 4, 2004Applicant: Hitachi High-Technologies CorporationInventors: Atsushi Miyamoto, Hirohito Okuda, Toshifumi Honda, Yuji Takagi, Takashi Hiroi
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Publication number: 20040032979Abstract: The present invention relates to a defect detection or observation method that detects fine defects in the course of defect inspection and observation, does not detect locations not constituting defects, or classifies a defect candidate as a grain phenomenon or other phenomenon that does not affect a product.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 12, 2003Publication date: February 19, 2004Applicant: Hitachi High-Technologies CorporationInventors: Toshifumi Honda, Hirohito Okuda
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Publication number: 20040028276Abstract: A highly reliable defect automatic classifying method and apparatus capable of flexibly coping with a request for classifying a defect given by each user without having to collect lots of teach data items. A classifying class arrangement is defined by a user by combining classes supplied by the system itself or classes defined by the user and, further, a priori knowledge on the defect class is given by the user as a restriction so as to carry out restricted learning.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 28, 2003Publication date: February 12, 2004Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Hirohito Okuda, Toshifumi Honda, Yuji Takagi, Atsushi Miyamoto
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Method monitoring a quality of electronic circuits and its manufacturing condition and system for it
Patent number: 6622054Abstract: With a view to providing a monitoring system for the quality and manufacturing conditions of electronic circuits capable of facilitating the grasping of correlation's between diverse manufacturing conditions and manufacturing states, statistically characteristic images are selected out of a group of images retrieved from a detection information database by specifying at least one out of the values of feature quantities, design information and manufacturing conditions, and are displayed.Type: GrantFiled: October 6, 1999Date of Patent: September 16, 2003Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Hirohito Okuda, Toshifumi Honda, Hisae Yamamura, Yuji Takagi, Hideaki Doi, Shigeshi Yoshinaga -
Publication number: 20030118149Abstract: An apparatus and a method for automatically inspecting a defect by an electron beam using an X-ray detector. The composition of a defective portion is analyzed with higher rapidity and the cause of the defect is easily and accurately determined based on an X-ray spectrum. The X-ray spectrum and the image of foreign particles formed on a process QC wafer are registered as reference data, and the defects generated on a process wafer are classified by collation with the reference data. The use of both the X-ray spectrum and the detected image optimizes the operating conditions for X-ray detection. A defect of which the X ray is to be detected is selected based on the result of classification of defect images automatically collected, and the defect is classified according to the features including both the composition and the external appearance.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 27, 2002Publication date: June 26, 2003Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Hirohito Okuda, Yuji Takagi, Toshifumi Honda
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Publication number: 20030058435Abstract: A method to solve the problem of a technique generally used to detect a defect of a semiconductor by calculating the differential image based on pattern matching, which requires that a reference image must be picked up to pick up an image of the inspection position in an area with the semiconductor pattern having no periodicity, resulting in a low throughput. The image of the inspection position is divided into local areas, each local area is matched with the local area of the image already stored and the difference between the local areas thus matched is determined to extract a defect area.Type: ApplicationFiled: August 19, 2002Publication date: March 27, 2003Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Toshifumi Honda, Yuji Takagi, Hirohito Okuda
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Publication number: 20030015659Abstract: An image picked up by a detection system capable of actualizing a three-dimensional inclination is usually poor in the signal-to-noise ratio, and it is difficult to stably detect minute defects. Images that actualize a three-dimensional inclination are picked up from opposed directions. The images are subject to subtraction and addition. The images improved in signal-to-noise ratio as compared with original images are calculated. The images calculated and improved in signal-to-noise ratio respectively of a defect portion and a reference portion are compared with each other. Regions differing in comparison results are detected as defects. As a result, minute defects can be inspected stably.Type: ApplicationFiled: February 20, 2002Publication date: January 23, 2003Applicant: Hitachi, Ltd.Inventors: Toshifumi Honda, Hirohito Okuda, Yasuhiko Ozawa, Katsuhiro Kitahashi
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Publication number: 20020113234Abstract: For the purpose of reducing a false report and shortening inspection time, an area to be inspected is locally inspected under optimum inspection conditions. In order to avoid the number of detected defects from increasing explosively, and thereby to facilitate control of a critical defect, general-purpose layout data, which is used for producing a mask of a semiconductor wafer, is accumulated in a design information server 2. With reference to the layout data, an area to be inspected, which is inspected by a pattern inspecting apparatus 1, is divided into partial inspection areas including a cell portion and a non-cell portion. Inspection parameters are set for each of the partial inspection areas. In addition, the defect reviewing apparatus 8 obtains an inspection result of the pattern inspecting apparatus 1.Type: ApplicationFiled: January 18, 2002Publication date: August 22, 2002Inventors: Hirohito Okuda, Yuji Takagi, Masahiro Watanabe, Shunji Maeda, Minori Noguchi, Yoshimasa Ooshima, Makoto Ono