Patents by Inventor Robert TRAUNER

Robert TRAUNER 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: 11687008
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, a method for automated critical dimension measurement on a substrate for display manufacturing is provided. The method includes scanning a first field of view having a first size with a charged particle beam to obtain a first image having a first resolution of a first portion of the substrate for display manufacturing; determining a pattern within the first image, the pattern having a first position; scanning a second field of view with the charged particle beam to obtain a second image of a second portion of the substrate, the second field of view has a second size smaller than the first size and has a second position provided relative to the first position, the second image has a second resolution higher than the first resolution; and determining a critical dimension of a structure provided on the substrate from the second image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Bernhard G. Mueller, Robert Trauner, Bernhard Schüler, Peter C. Staffansson, Kulpreet Singh Virdi, Volker Daiker
  • Patent number: 11610755
    Abstract: A method of automatically focusing a charged particle beam on a surface region of a sample is provided. The method includes acquiring a plurality of images for a corresponding plurality of focusing strength values; calculating a plurality of sharpness values based on the plurality of images, the plurality of sharpness values are calculated with a sharpness function provided as a sum in a frequency space based on the plurality of images; and determining subsequent focusing strength values of the plurality of focusing strength values with a golden ratio search algorithm based one the calculated sharpness values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Trauner, Bernhard Schüler, Bernhard G. Mueller, Nikolai Knaub, Kulpreet Singh Virdi
  • Publication number: 20220044907
    Abstract: A method of automatically focusing a charged particle beam on a surface region of a sample is provided. The method includes acquiring a plurality of images for a corresponding plurality of focusing strength values; calculating a plurality of sharpness values based on the plurality of images, the plurality of sharpness values are calculated with a sharpness function provided as a sum in a frequency space based on the plurality of images; and determining subsequent focusing strength values of the plurality of focusing strength values with a golden ratio search algorithm based one the calculated sharpness values.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 21, 2021
    Publication date: February 10, 2022
    Inventors: Robert TRAUNER, Bernhard SCHÜLER, Bernhard G. MUELLER, Nikolai KNAUB, Kulpreet Singh VIRDI
  • Patent number: 11195691
    Abstract: A method of automatically focusing a charted particle beam on a surface region of a sample is provided. The method includes acquiring a plurality of images for a corresponding plurality of focusing strength values; calculating a plurality of sharpness values based on the plurality of images, the plurality of sharpness values are calculated with a sharpness function provided as a sum in a frequency space based on the plurality of images; and determining subsequent focusing strength values of the plurality of focusing strength values with a golden ratio search algorithm based one the calculated sharpness values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 7, 2021
    Assignee: Applied Materials, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Trauner, Bernhard Schüler, Bernhard G. Mueller, Nikolai Knaub, Kulpreet Singh Virdi
  • Publication number: 20210373444
    Abstract: According to an embodiment, a method for automated critical dimension measurement on a substrate for display manufacturing is provided. The method includes scanning a first field of view having a first size with a charged particle beam to obtain a first image having a first resolution of a first portion of the substrate for display manufacturing; determining a pattern within the first image, the pattern having a first position; scanning a second field of view with the charged particle beam to obtain a second image of a second portion of the substrate, the second field of view has a second size smaller than the first size and has a second position provided relative to the first position, the second image has a second resolution higher than the first resolution; and determining a critical dimension of a structure provided on the substrate from the second image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 22, 2018
    Publication date: December 2, 2021
    Inventors: Bernhard G. MUELLER, Robert TRAUNER, Bernhard SCHÜLER, Peter C. STAFFANSSON, Kulpreet Singh VIRDI, Volker DAIKER
  • Publication number: 20210249220
    Abstract: A method of automatically focusing a charged particle beam on a surface region of a sample is provided. The method includes acquiring a plurality of images for a corresponding plurality of focusing strength values; calculating a plurality of sharpness values based on the plurality of images, the plurality of sharpness values are calculated with a sharpness function provided as a sum in a frequency space based on the plurality of images; and determining subsequent focusing strength values of the plurality of focusing strength values with a golden ratio search algorithm based one the calculated sharpness values.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 12, 2019
    Publication date: August 12, 2021
    Inventors: Robert TRAUNER, Bernhard SCHÜLER, Bernhard G. MUELLER, Nikolai KNAUB, Kulpreet Singh VIRDI
  • Patent number: 10345250
    Abstract: A method of inspecting a sample with a charged particle beam device is described. The method comprises arranging the sample on a stage, determining a first focusing strength of an objective lens adapted to focus a charged particle beam on a first surface region of the sample that is arranged at a first distance from the objective lens in a direction of an optical axis, calculating a difference between the first distance and a predetermined working distance based on the determined first focusing strength, adjusting a distance between the first surface region and the objective lens by the calculated difference, and inspecting the first surface region. According to a further aspect, a charged particle beam device configured to be operated according to the above method is described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2019
    Assignee: APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.
    Inventors: Bernhard G. Mueller, Kulpreet Singh Virdi, Bernhard Schüler, Robert Trauner, Ludwig Ledl
  • Publication number: 20190113470
    Abstract: A method of inspecting a sample with a charged particle beam device is described. The method comprises arranging the sample on a stage, determining a first focusing strength of an objective lens adapted to focus a charged particle beam on a first surface region of the sample that is arranged at a first distance from the objective lens in a direction of an optical axis, calculating a difference between the first distance and a predetermined working distance based on the determined first focusing strength, adjusting a distance between the first surface region and the objective lens by the calculated difference, and inspecting the first surface region. According to a further aspect, a charged particle beam device configured to be operated according to the above method is described.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 12, 2017
    Publication date: April 18, 2019
    Inventors: Bernhard G. MUELLER, Kulpreet Singh VIRDI, Bernhard SCHÜLER, Robert TRAUNER, Ludwig LEDL