Provided is a defect inspection apparatus including a plurality of detection optical systems for collecting illumination scattered light from the surface of a sample, a plurality of sensors for converting the illumination scattered light collected by the corresponding detection optical systems into electrical signals and outputting detection signals, and a signal processing device for processing the detection signals input from the plurality of sensors, wherein the signal processing device generates a first signal group including an integrated signal obtained by adding a plurality of detection signals in a predetermined combination based on a group of detection signals input from the plurality of sensors, generates a second signal group by performing the filtering processing on each signal that configures the first signal group, generates a third signal group including separated signals separated according to a predetermined rule from the signal corresponding to the integrated signal based on the second signal group, and detects or classifies defects based on the third signal group to store defect inspection data in a memory.

A defect inspection apparatus including a stand that supports a sample, an illumination optical system that irradiates the sample with illumination light, a scanning device that drives the sample stand to change position, detection optical systems that condense illumination scattered light from a surface of the sample, sensors that convert the condensed light into an electric signal and output a detection signal, a storage device that stores a plurality of feature vectors for each defect type, and a signal processing device that processes detection signals input from the plurality of sensors. The signal processing device calculates a measurement vector that is a feature vector of a defect on the surface of the sample, generates a feature vector of a virtual defect in which a form of the detection defect has been changed, from the actual measurement vector, and accumulates the feature vector of the virtual defect of one instruction defect.

Additive manufacturing, such as laser sintering or melting of additive layers, can produce parts rapidly at small volume and in a factory setting. To ensure the additive manufactured parts are of high quality, a real-time non-destructive evaluation (NDE) technique is required to detect defects while they are being manufactured. The present invention describes an in-situ (real-time) inspection unit that can be added to an existing additive manufacturing (AM) tool, such as an FDM (fused deposition modeling) machine, or a direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) machine, providing real-time information about the part quality, and detecting flaws as they occur. The information provided by this unit is used to a) qualify the part as it is being made, and b) to provide feedback to the AM tool for correction, or to stop the process if the part will not meet the quality, thus saving time, energy and reduce material loss.

Provided is a wafer inspection apparatus including a monochromator that extracts monochromatic light, a collimator that outputs the monochromatic light as parallel light, a first polarization assembly that polarizes the parallel light and radiates the polarized light to a wafer, an imaging optical system that condenses light reflected from the wafer, a spectroscope that splits the condensed light into a plurality of spectrums, a first lens that condenses the plurality of spectrums, a second polarization assembly that outputs the plurality of spectrums as a plurality of polarized lights having different diffraction orders and a difference of 90°, a second lens that condenses the plurality of polarized lights, a third polarization assembly that outputs common polarized light based on the plurality of polarized interfering with each other, a camera that generates a phase difference image based on the common polarized light, and a signal processor that analyzes the phase difference image.

An optical inspection device for an optical performance test of a display device including a lens part configured to transmit external light, a phase film part configured to change a phase difference of the external light and transmit the external light, and an image processor configured to obtain electrical information of the external light, in which a phase difference of the phase film part is at least 7000 nm.

A method of manufacturing a display device includes: providing a glass including an edge region and an inner region; arranging a light source under the glass; setting a center position of the light source to correspond to an inside of the edge region or an inside of the inner region of the glass; directing light into the glass by using the light source; and detecting a defect in the edge region of the glass by receiving light passing through the glass by using a detection camera.

A spectroscopic analysis apparatus includes: a light projecting device; a light receiving device; and an output device, wherein the light receiving device includes: a separator configured to separate reflected light into s-polarized light and p-polarized light; a detector for s-polarized light configured to output an electric signal indicating an intensity of the s-polarized light; and a detector for p-polarized light configured to output an electric signal indicating an intensity of the p-polarized light; and the output device is configured to: calculate an absorbance based on a ratio between the intensities of the s-polarized light and the p-polarized light using the electric signals output from the detector for s-polarized light and the detector for p-polarized light; and calculate either or both of the composition and the composition ratio of the surface of the measurement target object using an intensity of the absorbance at any desired wavenumber.

A semiconductor-inspection tool scans a semiconductor die using a plurality of optical modes. A plurality of defects on the semiconductor die are identified based on results of the scanning. Respective defects of the plurality of defects correspond to respective pixel sets of the semiconductor-inspection tool. The scanning fails to resolve the respective defects. The results include multi-dimensional data based on pixel intensity for the respective pixel sets, wherein each dimension of the multi-dimensional data corresponds to a distinct mode of the plurality of optical modes. A discriminant function is applied to the results to transform the multi-dimensional data for the respective pixel sets into respective scores. Based at least in part on the respective scores, the respective defects are divided into distinct classes.

Methods and systems for simultaneous detection and linked processing of field signals and pupil signals are presented herein. In one aspect, estimates of one or more structural or process parameter values are based on field measurement signals, pupil measurement signals, or both. In addition, the quality of the measurements of the one or more structural or process parameter values is characterized based on the field measurement signals, pupil measurement signals, or both. In some embodiments, field measurement signals are processed to estimate one or more structural or process parameter values, and pupil measurement signals are processed to characterize the field measurement conditions. In some other embodiments, pupil measurement signals are processed to estimate one or more structural or process parameter values, and field measurement signals are processed to characterize the pupil measurement conditions.

This invention provides a system and method for detecting and imaging specular surface defects on a specular surface that employs a knife-edge technique in which the camera aperture or an external device is set to form a physical knife-edge structure within the optical path that effectively blocks reflected rays from an illuminated specular surface of a predetermined degree of slope values and allows rays deflected at differing slopes to reach the vision system camera sensor. The light reflected from the flat part of the surface is mostly blocked by the knife-edge. Light reflecting from the sloped parts of the defects is mostly reflected into the entrance aperture. The illumination beam is angled with respect to the optical axis of the camera to provide the appropriate degree of incident angle with respect to the surface under inspection. The surface can be stationary or in relative motion with respect to the camera.