A method for reviewing a defect including a light capturing step that illuminates a sample with light under plural optical conditions, while varying only at least one of illumination conditions, sample conditions, or detection conditions, and detects plural lights scattering from the sample; a signal obtaining step that obtains plural signals based on the lights detected; and a processing step that discriminates a defect from noise according to a waveform characteristic quantity, an image characteristic quantity, or a value characteristic quantity created using the signals and derives the coordinates of defect.

Provided are a foreign material detecting device and method for detecting only a foreign material on a surface of a substrate except for a foreign material on a lower surface of the substrate in a manufacturing process of a transparent substrate passing light therethrough, such as a glass substrate used in a flat panel display (FPD) such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a plasma display panel (PDP), etc., a sapphire wafer used in some of semiconductors, or the like, and in a pattern forming process in a manufacturing process of the FPD and the semiconductor using the transparent substrate. More particularly, provided are a foreign material detecting device and method for detecting only a foreign material on a surface of an ultra-thin transparent substrate having a thickness of 0.3 T or less.

The methods herein utilize polarized light for detecting through holes in substrates. A light source directs light through a first polarization filter having a first polarization axis, wherein polarized light travels from the first polarization filter and toward a substrate. The orientation of the polarized light is changed while traveling through substrate material, and is scattered. However, polarized light traveling through a hole in the substrate remains unscattered. A second polarization filter receives unscattered light and scattered light traveling away from the substrate. The second polarization filter includes a second polarization axis angularly offset from and not parallel with the first polarization axis. As such, the second polarization filter blocks the advancement of unscattered light while the scattered light is not blocked by the second polarization filter. The hole is detected based on an absence of unscattered light surrounded by light traveling from the second polarization filter.

Disclosed are methods and apparatus for inspecting a semiconductor sample. This system comprises an illumination optics subsystem for generating and directing an incident beam towards a defect on a surface of a wafer. The illumination optics subsystem includes a light source for generating the incident beam and one or more polarization components for adjusting a ratio and/or a phase difference for the incident beam's electric field components. The system further includes a collection optics subsystem for collecting scattered light from the defect and/or surface in response to the incident beam, and the collection optics subsystem comprises an adjustable aperture at the pupil plane, followed by a rotatable waveplate for adjusting a phase difference of electric field components of the collected scattered light, followed by a rotatable analyzer. The system also includes a controller that is configured for (i) selecting a polarization of the incident beam, (ii) obtaining a defect scattering map, (iii) obtaining a surface scattering map, and (iv) determining a configuration of the one or more polarization components, aperture mask, and rotatable ¼ waveplate, and analyzer based on analysis of the defect and surface scattering map so as to maximize a defect signal to noise ratio,

A beverage bottle transport device in a beverage bottling plant. The abstract of the disclosure is submitted herewith as required by 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b). As stated in 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b): A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification must commence on a separate sheet, preferably following the claims, under the heading “Abstract of the Disclosure.” The purpose of the abstract is to enable the Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. The abstract shall not be used for interpreting the scope of the claims. Therefore, any statements made relating to the abstract are not intended to limit the claims in any manner and should not be interpreted as limiting the claims in any manner.

A template defect inspection method using an optical system includes emitting linearly polarized light to a template having a metal film formed on at least part of a concave-convex structure that is formed on a substrate and that has a line-and-space pattern, acquiring information on a polarization-rotated component, which is different from linearly polarized light incident on the template, of light reflected by the template in accordance with the emission thereto, converting the acquired information on the polarization-rotated component into an electrical signal, and processing the electrical signal.

Machine vision systems are provided. More specifically, machine vision systems are provided that incorporate polarized illumination and detection. Polarized electromagnetic radiation may be used to reduce glare and enable increased flashing speed in machine vision detection systems. Ultra-high power light sources, heat tolerant polarizing media and optical-path systems may be coupled with ultra-high speed flashing systems to enable increased web-speed while maintaining necessary accuracy in web-scanning operations.

The disclosed device, which, using an electron microscope or the like, minutely observes defects detected by an optical appearance-inspecting device or an optical defect-inspecting device, can reliably insert a defect to be observed into the field of an electron microscope or the like, and can be a device of smaller scale. The electron microscope, which observes defects detected by an optical appearance-inspecting device or an optical defect-inspecting device, has a configuration incorporating an optimal microscope that re-detects defects, and a spatial filter and a distribution polarization element are inserted at the pupil plane when making dark-field observations using this optical microscope. The electron microscope, which observes defects detected by an optical appearance-inspecting device or an optical defect-inspecting device, has a configuration incorporating an optimal microscope that re-detects defects, and a distribution filter is inserted at the pupil plane when making dark-field observations using this optical microscope.

Provided are a circular polarization filter including a circularly-polarized light separating layer (preferably, a layer having a cholesteric liquid crystalline phase fixed therein or a laminate including a reflective linear polarizer and a λ/4 phase difference layer), in which the circularly-polarized light separating layer selectively transmits either right-handed circularly polarized light or left-handed circularly polarized light in a specific wavelength region, a transparent medium which is transparent with respect to light in the specific wavelength region is provided at least on one surface side of the circularly-polarized light separating layer, and the transparent medium has an inclined surface which forms an angle of 1° to 30° relative to the surface on the transparent medium side of the circularly-polarized light separating layer, and sensor system using the circular polarization filter. The circular polarization filter of the invention is capable of providing circularly polarized light with a high circular polarizance, or improving sensitivity in the sensor system using circularly polarized light.

The invention relates to a method for optically inspecting containers, wherein an illumination unit emits light from a flat light-emitting surface and light transmitted or reflected by the containers is captured in at least one camera image. The camera image is analysed by an image processing unit for intensity information in order to identify foreign bodies and/or defects in the container. To this end, the light emitted from the light-emitting surface is locally encoded on the basis of at least one of a polarisation characteristic, an intensity characteristic and a phase characteristic and is captured in such a way that different emission locations on the light-emitting surface can be differentiated from one another in the camera image. The image processing unit analyses the camera image for location information of the emission locations, in order to differentiate the defects from the foreign bodies.