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

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

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

An overlay metrology system may include an illumination sub-system to sequentially illuminate an overlay target with a first illumination lobe and a second illumination lobe opposite the first illumination lobe, where the overlay target includes grating-over-grating features formed from periodic structures on a first sample layer and a second sample layer. The system may further include an imaging sub-system to generate a first image and a second image of the overlay target. The first image includes an unresolved image of the grating-over-grating structures formed from a single non-zero diffraction order of the first illumination lobe. The second image includes an unresolved image of the one or more grating-over-grating structures formed from a single non-zero diffraction order of the second illumination lobe. The system may further include a controller to determine an overlay error between the first layer and the second layer based on the first image and the second image.

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.

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.

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.

An imaging system images a sample across one or more wavelengths. A light source illuminates a sample with one or more wavelengths of light, and an image sensor detects light from the illuminated sample. A linear variable long pass filter is positioned to filter light reflected from the sample to pass to the image sensor multiple different wavelength bands having different cut-off wavelengths. Wavelengths of light on one side of the cut-off wavelength are blocked and wavelengths of light on the other side of the cut-off wavelength are passed as multiple different long pass wavelength bands for detection by the image sensor. The image sensor detects light for each of the multiple different long pass wavelength bands from the sample. Data processing circuitry converts the detected light for the multiple different long pass wavelength bands for the sample into corresponding different long pass wavelength band data sets for the sample.

The present invention discloses a far-field optical super-resolution microscopy method, and particularly relates to an optical super-resolution microscopy method for micro-structures on the surface of a sample. The present invention measures the vibration modes of different micro-samples via a laser interference vibrometer, and utilizes different eigen-vibration frequencies of the micro-structures on the surface of the sample to render, under the cooperation of a sub-nanometer two-dimensional displacement scanning translation stage, a high-resolution spatial position, an excitation frequency vibration spectrum and an image pattern, thus realizing super-resolution microscopy imaging. Since the present invention utilizes the different vibration frequencies of the micro-structures on the surface of the sample to perform marking, and adopts a laser to excite and detect the vibration of the micro-structures, the method has the characteristics of causing no mark, no damage and no contamination to the sample.

A transmission Raman spectroscopy apparatus has a light source for generating a light profile on a sample, a photodetector having at least one photodetector element, collection optics arranged to collect Raman scattered light transmitted through the sample and direct the Raman light onto the at least one photodetector element and a support for supporting the sample. The support and light source are arranged such that the light profile can be moved relative to the sample in order that the at least one photodetector element receives Raman scattered light generated for different locations of the light profile on the sample.