The inventions provide microscopes for imaging samples within wells of multi-well plates. Microscopes of the disclosure include a beam homogenizer system that shapes a beam from a light source into a shape specific to the bottom of a well of a multi-well plate. In particular, microscopes of the disclosure can illuminate wells for imaging by passing light through a prism that is beneath the sample. The light enters the prism from the side and as refracted into the well at a steep angle such that the light only illuminates about a bottom ten microns of the well. The beam homogenizer shapes the light from the light source so that, instead of hitting the prism as a spot with an irregular shape, the light enters the prism in a substantially rectangular pattern with homogeneous optical power level over the pattern.

An edge portion measuring apparatus for measuring shape of an edge portion of a wafer, including, a holding portion that holds the wafer, a rotating means for rotating the wafer, a sensor including a light projecting portion for projecting a laser light from a light source onto the edge portion of the wafer held by the holding portion, and a light receiving detection unit receiving diffuse reflected light that the laser light projected is reflected at the edge portion of the wafer, wherein, rotating the wafer while holding the wafer, at least in a range from normal direction of a held surface of the wafer to normal direction of a surface opposite to the held surface, projecting the laser light and detecting the diffuse reflected light by the sensor, being able to measure the shape of an entire area of the edge portion of the wafer by a triangulation method.

A process tool for processing production substrates, the process tool including: a movable stage configured to perform long-stroke movements in an X-Y plane; an imaging device mounted to a fixed part of the tool and having an optical axis substantially parallel to the X-Y plane; and a mirror mounted on the movable stage and oriented at a predetermined angle of inclination to the X-Y plane so that by moving the movable stage to a predetermined position a part of a component to be inspected can be imaged by the imaging device.

A portable device for imaging a solid or fluid biological sample. The portable device accepts a wafer for carrying the biological sample. The portable device comprises a camera, and a casing which is configured to receive the wafer. The wafer is positioned inside the casing at an imaging location so that the camera can capture images of the sample. The portable device can also comprise a rotary driver to rotate the wafer between a series of orientations. Each orientation bringing a different area of the biological sample into a field of view of the camera.

A process tool for processing production substrates, the process tool including: a movable stage configured to perform long-stroke movements in an X-Y plane; an imaging device mounted to a fixed part of the tool and having an optical axis substantially parallel to the X-Y plane; and a mirror mounted on the movable stage and oriented at a predetermined angle of inclination to the X-Y plane so that by moving the movable stage to a predetermined position a part of a component to be inspected can be imaged by the imaging device.

There are provided an overlay measuring device and a method for controlling a focus and a program therefor. An overlay measuring device controlling a focus in one embodiment includes an objective lens; a memory; a lens focus actuator operating the objective lens to adjust a distance between the objective lens and a wafer; and a processor controlling operations of the memory and the lens focus actuator, wherein the processor is configured to obtain a first height value in relation to each site of the wafer, match the obtained first height value and a corresponding site and store the same, and as initial measurement in relation to each site of the wafer starts, control the lens focus actuator, based on the stored first height value of the site, to control a Z-axis movement of the objective lens.

An inspecting machine for leathers includes a feeding unit for moving a leather along an advancement direction; a sensor unit for capturing images of the leather during movement and having contact image sensors arranged perpendicularly to the advancement direction of the leather; and a processing device for identifying geometrical features of the leather based on an analysis of sensor-provided images. The image sensors are staggered perpendicularly to the advancement direction of the leather so that the respective optical fields have corresponding first sections that are superimposed according to the advancement direction to capture first image portions of a same first portion of the leather at two different moments, and corresponding remaining sections for capturing second image portions of two other different portions of the leather adjacent to the first portions, the processing device combining the images captured by the image sensors based on an analysis of the first image portions.

AMENDMENT TO THE ABSTRACT Please replace the Abstract in the application with the following Abstract, insert the following after the claims:

ABSTRACT A method for checking value documents, in particular with regard to their authenticity and/or with regard to their value-document type, involves the following steps: detecting a first plurality of intensity courses on a value document, combining the first plurality of intensity courses or a second plurality of intensity courses selected from the first plurality into a combined intensity course, determining a time constant τ of the combined intensity course, checking the value document based on the time constant τ of the combined intensity course. A corresponding sensor is provided for checking value documents, and an apparatus enables value-document processing with the aforementioned sensor.

Disclosed herein, inter alia, are methods and systems of image analysis useful for rapidly identifying and/or quantifying features.

Surface sensing methods for imaging a scanned surface of a sample via sum-frequency vibrational spectroscopy are disclosed herein. The methods include exposing a sampled location of the scanned surface to a visible light beam and exposing the sampled location to a tunable infrared beam such that the tunable infrared beam is at least partially coincident with the visible light beam. The methods also include varying a frequency of the tunable infrared beam an inducing optical resonance within an imaged structure that extends at least partially within the sampled location. The methods further include receiving at least a portion of an emitted light beam from the sampled location and scanning the visible light beam and the runnable infrared beam across the scanned portion of the scanned surface. The methods also include generating an image of the scanned portion of the scanned surface based upon the receiving and the scanning.