Patents by Inventor Muneaki Tamura

Muneaki Tamura 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).

  • Patent number: 11340263
    Abstract: There is provided a probe device for inspecting a wafer. The probe device includes: an upper camera provided in a wafer alignment unit; a lower camera provided in a stage; a target member provided in any one of the wafer alignment unit and the stage; and a control circuit configured to control each operation of the upper and lower camera. The target member has an end surface on which a target mark is provided, wherein any of the upper and lower camera is configured to capture an image of the target mark. The control circuit is configured to acquire a captured image of the target mark using any of the upper camera and the lower camera; and calculate a correspondence between a specific physical parameter and a value represented in the captured image for a parameter represented in the captured image among physical parameters, based on the acquired captured image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: May 24, 2022
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventor: Muneaki Tamura
  • Patent number: 11221363
    Abstract: A test device for testing a needle mark generated in an electrode formed in a test object when a probe needle contacts the electrode includes an imaging part having a binning function, and a controller configured to control at least the imaging part. The controller is configured to perform a high-speed low-precision test process of imaging the electrode, after a contact operation by the probe needle, by the imaging part whose binning function is on, and determining a state of the needle mark of the electrode, based on an imaging result, and a low-speed high-precision test process of imaging the electrode again by the imaging part whose binning function is off, according to a determination result in the high-speed low-precision test process, and determining a state of the needle mark of the electrode imaged again, based on an imaging result.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 17, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2022
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventor: Muneaki Tamura
  • Publication number: 20200241069
    Abstract: A test device for testing a needle mark generated in an electrode formed in a test object when a probe needle contacts the electrode includes an imaging part having a binning function, and a controller configured to control at least the imaging part. The controller is configured to perform a high-speed low-precision test process of imaging the electrode, after a contact operation by the probe needle, by the imaging part whose binning function is on, and determining a state of the needle mark of the electrode, based on an imaging result, and a low-speed high-precision test process of imaging the electrode again by the imaging part whose binning function is off, according to a determination result in the high-speed low-precision test process, and determining a state of the needle mark of the electrode imaged again, based on an imaging result.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 17, 2018
    Publication date: July 30, 2020
    Inventor: Muneaki TAMURA
  • Publication number: 20200174040
    Abstract: There is provided a probe device for inspecting a wafer. The probe device includes: an upper camera provided in a wafer alignment unit; a lower camera provided in a stage; a target member provided in any one of the wafer alignment unit and the stage; and a control circuit configured to control each operation of the upper and lower camera. The target member has an end surface on which a target mark is provided, wherein any of the upper and lower camera is configured to capture an image of the target mark. The control circuit is configured to acquire a captured image of the target mark using any of the upper camera and the lower camera; and calculate a correspondence between a specific physical parameter and a value represented in the captured image for a parameter represented in the captured image among physical parameters, based on the acquired captured image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 2, 2019
    Publication date: June 4, 2020
    Inventor: Muneaki TAMURA
  • Patent number: 10310010
    Abstract: A probe apparatus includes a stage, a first and a second imaging device, a first and a second imaging optical unit, and a projection optical unit. The stage is movable in horizontal and vertical directions. The first imaging device picks up an image of a probe needle which is made to contact with an electrode of a device formed on a surface of the substrate. The first and second imaging optical units include optical systems for performing an image pickup by using the first and second imaging devices, respectively. The second imaging device picks up an image of the electrode held on the stage. The projection optical unit includes an optical system that projects an optical target mark, used in a position alignment of the first and the second imaging device, onto each of image forming units of the first and second imaging devices at the same time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 4, 2019
    Assignees: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED, SEIWA OPTICAL CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Muneaki Tamura, Shinji Akaike, Kenta Saiki, Kazuhiko Koshimizu, Isao Okazaki, Mitsuya Kawatsuki, Kiyoshi Tsuda
  • Patent number: 10006941
    Abstract: A contact position of a probe needle with respect to electrode pads 71 to 75 of a semiconductor device is inspected in advance when performing an inspection by a prober on the semiconductor device formed on a wafer W placed on a stage 11. A reticle 31 on which shapes 61 to 65 indicating positions of the probe needles are formed is placed instead of the probe needles at a position where the probe needles are arranged. The semiconductor device formed on the wafer W is imaged by the imaging unit 33 through the reticle 31. A positional relationship between the shapes formed on the reticle 31 and the electrode pads 71 to 75 is analyzed from the image. When necessary, a position of the stage 11 is adjusted such that centers of the shapes 61 to 65 and centers of the electrode pad 71 to 75 are coincident.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2015
    Date of Patent: June 26, 2018
    Assignee: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
    Inventors: Kenta Saiki, Toshihiko Tanaka, Muneaki Tamura, Kazuhiko Koshimizu, Shinji Akaike
  • Publication number: 20170219625
    Abstract: A contact position of a probe needle with respect to electrode pads 71 to 75 of a semiconductor device is inspected in advance when performing an inspection by a prober on the semiconductor device formed on a wafer W placed on a stage 11. A reticle 31 on which shapes 61 to 65 indicating positions of the probe needles are formed is placed instead of the probe needles at a position where the probe needles are arranged. The semiconductor device formed on the wafer W is imaged by the imaging unit 33 through the reticle 31. A positional relationship between the shapes formed on the reticle 31 and the electrode pads 71 to 75 is analyzed from the image. When necessary, a position of the stage 11 is adjusted such that centers of the shapes 61 to 65 and centers of the electrode pad 71 to 75 are coincident.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 19, 2015
    Publication date: August 3, 2017
    Inventors: Kenta Saiki, Toshihiko Tanaka, Muneaki Tamura, Kazuhiko Koshimizu, Shinji Akaike
  • Publication number: 20160161553
    Abstract: A probe apparatus includes a stage, a first and a second imaging device, a first and a second imaging optical unit, and a projection optical unit. The stage is movable in horizontal and vertical directions. The first imaging device picks up an image of a probe needle which is made to contact with an electrode of a device formed on a surface of the substrate. The first and second imaging optical units include optical systems for performing an image pickup by using the first and second imaging devices, respectively. The second imaging device picks up an image of the electrode held on the stage. The projection optical unit includes an optical system that projects an optical target mark, used in a position alignment of the first and the second imaging device, onto each of image forming units of the first and second imaging devices at the same time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 2, 2015
    Publication date: June 9, 2016
    Inventors: Muneaki TAMURA, Shinji AKAIKE, Kenta SAIKI, Kazuhiko KOSHIMIZU, Isao OKAZAKI, Mitsuya KAWATSUKI, Kiyoshi TSUDA
  • Publication number: 20080024794
    Abstract: In a semiconductor surface inspection apparatus for inspecting the surface of a semiconductor device as a test object based on an optical image thereof, the present invention achieves illumination that enables diffracted light from the test object under dark-field illumination to be obtained efficiently from the entire area of the test object and thereby alleviates degradation of the defect detection sensitivity of the inspection apparatus over the entire area of the test object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 3, 2005
    Publication date: January 31, 2008
    Inventors: Yoko Miyazaki, Toshiro Kurosawa, Muneaki Tamura