Patents Examined by Nikita Wells
  • Patent number: 8933424
    Abstract: An ion implantation system and method are provided where an ion source generates an ion and a mass analyzer mass analyzes the ion beam. A beam profiling apparatus translates through the ion beam along a profiling plane in a predetermined time, wherein the beam profiling apparatus measures the beam current across a width of the ion beam concurrent with the translation, therein defining a time and position dependent beam current profile of the ion beam. A beam monitoring apparatus is configured to measure the ion beam current at an edge of the ion beam over the predetermined time, therein defining a time dependent ion beam current, and a controller determines a time independent ion beam profile by dividing the time and position dependent beam current profile of the ion beam by the time dependent ion beam current, therein by cancelling fluctuations in ion beam current over the predetermined time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: Axcelis Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Shu Satoh
  • Patent number: 8933400
    Abstract: Provided is an inspection apparatus or observation apparatus enabling appropriate inspection or observation of a sample in an easy-to-use manner, using a charged-particle technique and an optical technique.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Yusuke Ominami, Mami Konomi, Sukehiro Ito, Tomohisa Ohtaki, Shinsuke Kawanishi
  • Patent number: 8927932
    Abstract: A scanning transmission electron microscope for imaging a specimen includes an electron beam source to generate an electron beam. Beam optics are provided to converge the electron beam. A stage is provided to hold a specimen in the path of the electron beam. A beam scanner scans the electron beam across the specimen. A controller may define one or more scanning areas corresponding to locations of the specimen, and control one or more of the beam scanner and stage to selectively scan the electron beam in the scanning areas. A detector is provided to detect electrons transmitted through the specimen to generate an image. The controller may generate a sub-image for each of the scanning areas, and stitch together the sub-images for the scanning areas to generate a stitched-together image. The controller may also analyze the stitched-together image to determine information regarding the specimen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 4, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Mochii, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Su-Yan Own, William Andregg, Michael Lee Andregg
  • Patent number: 8921787
    Abstract: A transmission electron microscope includes an electron beam source to generate an electron beam. Beam optics are provided to converge the electron beam. A specimen holder is provided to hold a specimen in the path of the electron beam. A detector is used to detect the electron beam transmitted through the specimen. The transmission electron microscope may be adapted to generate two or more images that are substantially incoherently related to one another, store the images, and combine amplitude signals at corresponding pixels of the respective images to improve a signal-to-noise ratio. Alternatively or in addition, the transmission electron microscope may be adapted to operate the specimen holder to move the specimen in relation to the beam optics during exposure or between exposures to operate the transmission electron microscope in an incoherent mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: Mochii, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher Su-Yan Own, Andrew Bleloch, William Andregg
  • Patent number: 8921783
    Abstract: A method of using electron diffraction to obtain PDFs from crystalline, nanocrystalline, and amorphous inorganic, organic, and organometallic compound.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York
    Inventors: Simon Billinge, Christopher Farrow, Tatiana E. Gorelik, Mercouri Kanatzidis, Martin U. Schmidt
  • Patent number: 8921765
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a system 100 for independently holding and manipulating one or more microscopic objects 158 and for targeting at least a part of the one or more microscopic objects within a trapping volume 102 with electromagnetic radiation 138. The system comprises trapping means for holding and manipulating the one or more microscopic objects and electromagnetic radiation targeting means (116). The light means comprising a light source and a spatial light modulator which serve to modify the light from the light source so as to enable specific illumination of at least a part of the one or more microscopic objects. The trapping means and the electromagnetic radiation targeting means (116) are enabled to function independently of each other, so that the trapped objects may be moved around without taking being dependent on which parts are being targeted and vice versa.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: Danmarks Tekniske Universitet
    Inventors: Jesper Glückstad, Darwin Palima
  • Patent number: 8925111
    Abstract: Provided are a scanning probe microscope and a method of operating the same. The scanning probe microscope includes a chuck configured to fix an object. A stacker is configured to load one or more cantilevers onto a head module. A stacker lifting element is configured to move the stacker in an up and down direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Wan-Sung Park, Sung-Ha Kim, Young-Hwan Kim
  • Patent number: 8921786
    Abstract: Provided is a charged particle beam apparatus or charged particle microscope capable of observing an observation target sample in an air atmosphere or a gas environment without making significant changes to the configuration of a conventional high vacuum charged particle microscope. In a charged particle beam apparatus configured such that a thin film (10) is used to separate a vacuum environment and an air atmosphere (or a gas environment), an attachment (121) capable of holding the thin film (10) and whose interior can be maintained at an air atmosphere or a gas environment is inserted into a vacuum chamber (7) of a high vacuum charged particle microscope. The attachment (121) is vacuum-sealed and fixed to a vacuum partition of the vacuum sample chamber. Image quality is further improved by replacing the atmosphere in the attachment with helium or a light-elemental gas that has a lower mass than atmospheric gases such as nitrogen or water vapor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Yusuke Ominami, Sukehiro Ito, Tomohisa Ohtaki
  • Patent number: 8916843
    Abstract: A system includes a patient support and an outer gantry on which an accelerator is mounted to enable the accelerator to move through a range of positions around a patient on the patient support. The accelerator is configured to produce a proton or ion beam having an energy level sufficient to reach a target in the patient. An inner gantry includes an aperture for directing the proton or ion beam towards the target.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2014
    Assignee: Mevion Medical Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Kenneth Gall, Stanley Rosenthal, Gordon Row, Michael Ahearn
  • Patent number: 8916837
    Abstract: A charged particle lithography system for transferring a pattern onto the surface of a target, comprising a source for generating a charged particle beam, a first chamber housing the source, a collimating system for collimating the charged particle beam, a second chamber housing the collimating system, and a first aperture array element for generating a plurality of charged particle subbeams from the collimated charged particle beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 23, 2014
    Assignee: Mapper Lithography IP B.V.
    Inventors: Laura Dinu-Gürtler, Willem Henk Urbanus, Marco Jan-Jaco Wieland, Stijn Willem Herman Karel Steenbrink
  • Patent number: 8914911
    Abstract: Described are methods for magnetically actuating microcantilevers and magnetically actuated and self-heated microcantilevers. Also described are methods for determining viscoelastic properties and thermal transition temperatures of materials.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 14, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2014
    Assignees: The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois, Anasys Instruments
    Inventors: William P. King, Craig Prater, Byeonghee Lee, Doug Gotthard
  • Patent number: 8912491
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method of performing tomographic imaging of a sample comprising providing a beam of charged particles; providing the sample on a sample holder that can be tilted; in an imaging step, directing the beam through the sample to image the sample; repeating this procedure at each of a series of sample tilts to acquire a set of images; in a reconstruction step, mathematically processing images from said set to construct a composite image, whereby in said imaging step, for a given sample tilt, a sequence of component images is captured at a corresponding sequence of focus settings; and in said reconstruction step, for at least one member of said series of sample tilts, multiple members of said sequence of component images are used in said mathematical image processing. This renders a 3D imaging cube rather than a 2D imaging sheet at a given sample tilt.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 26, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 16, 2014
    Assignee: FEI Company
    Inventors: Remco Schoenmakers, Uwe Luecken, Erik Michiel Franken
  • Patent number: 8907278
    Abstract: Provided is a charged particle beam applied apparatus for observing a sample, provided with: a beam-forming section that forms a plurality of charged particle beams on a sample; an energy control unit that controls the incident energy of the plurality of charged particle beams that are irradiated onto the sample; a beam current control unit that controls the beam current of the plurality of charged particle beams that are irradiated onto the sample; and a beam arrangement control unit that controls the arrangement in which the plurality of charged particle beams is irradiated onto the sample. The beam-forming section includes a beam splitting electrode, a lens array upper electrode, a lens array middle electrode, a lens array lower electrode and a movable stage, and functions as the beam current control unit or the beam arrangement control unit through selection, by the movable stage, of a plurality of aperture pattern sets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Momoyo Enyama, Hiroya Ota, Taku Ninomiya, Mari Nozoe
  • Patent number: 8907311
    Abstract: A system includes a patient support and an outer gantry on which an accelerator is mounted to enable the accelerator to move through a range of positions around a patient on the patient support. The accelerator is configured to produce a proton or ion beam having an energy level sufficient to reach a target in the patient. An inner gantry includes a robotic arm capable of directing an aperture for directing the proton or ion beam towards the target.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 22, 2011
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2014
    Assignee: Mevion Medical Systems, Inc.
    Inventors: Kenneth Gall, Stanley Rosenthal, Gordon Row, Michael Ahearn
  • Patent number: 8907279
    Abstract: The present invention is characterized by an electron microscope which intermittently applies an electron beam to a sample and detects a secondary electron signal, wherein an arbitrarily defined detection time (T2) shorter than the pulse width (Tp) of the applied electron beam is selected, and a secondary electron image is formed using the secondary electron signal acquired during the detection time. Consequently, it is possible to reflect necessary sample information including the internal structure and laminated interface of the sample in the contrast of an image and prevent unnecessary information from being superimposed on the image, thereby making it possible to obtain the secondary electron image with improved sample information selectivity and image quality.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2014
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Natsuki Tsuno, Hideyuki Kazumi, Yuzuru Mochizuki, Takafumi Miwa, Yoshinobu Kimura, Toshiyuki Yokosuka
  • Patent number: 8905369
    Abstract: The invention relates to a vibration isolation module (101) for a lithographic apparatus or an inspection apparatus. The module comprises a support frame (102), an intermediate body (103) and a support body (104) for accommodating the lithographic apparatus. The intermediate body is connected to the support frame by means of at least one spring element such that the intermediate body is a hanging body. The support body is connected to the intermediate body by means of at least one pendulum rod (108) such that the support body is a hanging body. The invention further relates to a substrate processing system comprising such vibration isolation module.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 9, 2014
    Assignee: Mapper Lithography IP B.V.
    Inventors: Jerry Johannes Martinus Peijster, Rogier Martin Lambert Ellenbroek, Guido De Boer
  • Patent number: 8901485
    Abstract: A method of determining the concentration of an element of interest in a solid of interest based on the ratio of the measured relative abundances of two isotopes in the solid of interest, one isotope of the element of interest and the second isotope from an element represented in the chemical formula of the solid of interest, and comparing this ratio to the ratio of the measured relative abundances of the same two isotopes for a reference solid for which the concentration of the element of interest is known. A method of calculating the concentration of the element of interest in the solid of interest. A method of executing a computer software program with instructions for calculating the concentration of the element of interest in the solid of interest.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Inventors: Raymond Allen Donelick, Margaret Burke Donelick
  • Patent number: 8901524
    Abstract: An extreme ultraviolet light source apparatus generating an extreme ultraviolet light from plasma generated by irradiating a target material with a laser light within a chamber, and controlling a flow of ions generated together with the extreme ultraviolet light using a magnetic field or an electric field, the extreme ultraviolet light source apparatus comprises an ion collector device collecting the ion via an aperture arranged at a side of the chamber, and an interrupting mechanism interrupting movement of a sputtered particle in a direction toward the aperture, the sputtered particle generated at an ion collision surface collided with the ion in the ion collector device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Assignee: Gigaphoton Inc.
    Inventors: Takeshi Asayama, Kouji Kakizaki, Akira Endo, Shinji Nagai
  • Patent number: 8904561
    Abstract: An atomic force microscope based apparatus and method for detecting Raman effect on a sample of interest utilizes first and second electromagnetic sources to emit first electromagnetic radiation of frequency Vi and second electromagnetic radiation of frequency V2 onto a probe tip, which is coupled to a structure that can oscillate the probe tip. The frequency Vi and the frequency v2 are selected to induce Raman effect on a sample engaged by the probe tip that results in Raman force interactions between the probe tip and the sample. Oscillations of the probe tip due to the Raman force interactions are then measured.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 2, 2014
    Inventor: H. Kumar Wickramasinghe
  • Patent number: 8895921
    Abstract: An inspection apparatus is provided comprising in combination at least an optical microscope (2, 3, 4) and an ion- or electron microscope (7, 8) equipped with a source (7) for emitting a primary beam (9) of radiation to a sample (10) in a sample holder. The apparatus may comprise a detector (8) for detection of secondary radiation (11) backscattered from the sample and induced by the primary beam. The optical microscope is equipped with an light collecting device (2) to receive in use luminescence light (12) emitted by the sample and to focus it on a photon-detector (4).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2014
    Assignee: Delmic B.V.
    Inventors: Pieter Kruit, Jacob Pieter Hoogenboom, Aernout Christiaan Zonnevylle