Patents by Inventor Hideki Yatabe

Hideki Yatabe 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).

  • Sample transfer unit and sample transferring method
    Patent number: 8173971
    Abstract: There is provided a mini environment type transfer unit which can efficiently transfer a sample to a critical dimension scanning electron microscope (CD-SEM) even in the case of use of a SMIF pod which can store only one photomask. In addition to a load port, a stocker which can store a plurality of photomasks is provided in the mini environment type transfer unit. A mask storage slot in which a plurality of storage units are stacked is provided in the stocker, and one photomask is stored in each storage unit. A sensor is provided in each storage unit to determine whether or not the photomask is normally stored. Additionally, a sensor is provided in each storage unit to detect whether or not the photomask exists.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 26, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Takashi Gunji, Hidetoshi Sato, Katsuya Kawakami, Hideki Yatabe
  • Sample transfer unit and sample transferring method
    Patent number: 7737416
    Abstract: There is provided a mini environment type transfer unit which can efficiently transfer a sample to a critical dimension scanning electron microscope (CD-SEM) even in the case of use of a SMIF pod which can store only one photomask. In addition to a load port, a stocker which can store a plurality of photomasks is provided in the mini environment type transfer unit. A mask storage slot in which a plurality of storage units are stacked is provided in the stocker, and one photomask is stored in each storage unit. A sensor is provided in each storage unit to determine whether or not the photomask is normally stored. Additionally, a sensor is provided in each storage unit to detect whether or not the photomask exists.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2008
    Date of Patent: June 15, 2010
    Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Takashi Gunji, Hidetoshi Sato, Katsuya Kawakami, Hideki Yatabe
  • SAMPLE TRANSFER UNIT AND SAMPLE TRANSFERRING METHOD
    Publication number: 20080203302
    Abstract: There is provided a mini environment type transfer unit which can efficiently transfer a sample to a critical dimension scanning electron microscope (CD-SEM) even in the case of use of a SMIF pod which can store only one photomask. In addition to a load port, a stocker which can store a plurality of photomasks is provided in the mini environment type transfer unit. A mask storage slot in which a plurality of storage units are stacked is provided in the stocker, and one photomask is stored in each storage unit. A sensor is provided in each storage unit to determine whether or not the photomask is normally stored. Additionally, a sensor is provided in each storage unit to detect whether or not the photomask exists.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2008
    Publication date: August 28, 2008
    Applicant: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation
    Inventors: Takashi Gunji, Hidetoshi Sato, Katsuya Kawakami, Hideki Yatabe