High accuracy beam placement for local area navigation
US8781219B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 25, 2012 |
| Grant date | Jul 15, 2014 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 31, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L2924/0002
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An improved method of high accuracy beam placement for local area navigation in the field of semiconductor chip manufacturing. Preferred embodiments of the present invention can also be used to rapidly navigate to one single bit cell in a memory array or similar structure, for example to characterize or correct a defect in that individual bit cell. High-resolution scanning is used to scan only a “strip” of cells on the one edge of the array (along either the X axis and the Y axis) to locate a row containing the desired cell followed by a similar high-speed scan along the located row (in the remaining direction) until the desired cell location is reached. This allows pattern-recognition tools to be used to automatically “count” the cells necessary to navigate to the desired cell, without the large expenditure of time required to image the entire array.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.