Scanning electron microscope and image signal processing method
First Claim
1. A scanning electron microscope comprising:
- a secondary electron detector for detecting secondary electrons discharged from the surface of a specimen when a primary electron beam is irradiated on the specimen surface, generating an observation image signal on the basis of an amount of detected secondary electrons and outputting the observation image signal; and
an image signal processor for generating a display image of said specimen surface on the basis of the observation image signal delivered out of said secondary electron detector and displaying the display image, wherein said image signal processor includes;
dynamic range reference value setting means for setting dynamic range reference values;
dynamic range adjustment means for inputting the observation image signal said secondary electron detector outputs, adjusting the dynamic range of said observation image signal on the basis of said dynamic range reference values set as above and outputting the thus adjusted observation image signal as an observation image signal after adjustment;
display image generation means for determining luminous intensity levels of individual pixels of an image to be displayed on the basis of the observation image signal after adjustment outputted from said dynamic range adjustment means to generate a display image;
histogram generation means for generating a histogram of luminous intensity levels of the individual pixels of said generated display image and extracting from the thus generated histogram a value at which the frequency corresponding to a luminous intensity level is maximized as a luminous intensity peak value; and
histogram display means for displaying said generated histogram and said extracted luminous intensity peak value.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The SEM has a dynamic range reference value setting unit for setting dynamic range reference values, a dynamic range adjustment unit for receiving an observation image signal delivered out of a secondary electron detector, adjusting the dynamic range of the observation image signal on the basis of the dynamic range reference values and outputting the thus adjusted observation image signal as an observation image signal after adjustment, a display image generation unit for determining luminous intensity levels of individual pixels of an image to be displayed based on the observation image signal after adjustment to generate a display image, a histogram generation unit for generating a histogram of luminous intensity levels of the display image and extracting, as a luminous intensity peak value, at which the frequency of luminous intensity is maximized, and a display unit for displaying the generated histogram and the extracted luminous intensity peak value.
22 Citations
6 Claims
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1. A scanning electron microscope comprising:
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a secondary electron detector for detecting secondary electrons discharged from the surface of a specimen when a primary electron beam is irradiated on the specimen surface, generating an observation image signal on the basis of an amount of detected secondary electrons and outputting the observation image signal; and
an image signal processor for generating a display image of said specimen surface on the basis of the observation image signal delivered out of said secondary electron detector and displaying the display image, wherein said image signal processor includes;
dynamic range reference value setting means for setting dynamic range reference values;
dynamic range adjustment means for inputting the observation image signal said secondary electron detector outputs, adjusting the dynamic range of said observation image signal on the basis of said dynamic range reference values set as above and outputting the thus adjusted observation image signal as an observation image signal after adjustment;
display image generation means for determining luminous intensity levels of individual pixels of an image to be displayed on the basis of the observation image signal after adjustment outputted from said dynamic range adjustment means to generate a display image;
histogram generation means for generating a histogram of luminous intensity levels of the individual pixels of said generated display image and extracting from the thus generated histogram a value at which the frequency corresponding to a luminous intensity level is maximized as a luminous intensity peak value; and
histogram display means for displaying said generated histogram and said extracted luminous intensity peak value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. An image signal processing method in a scanning electron microscope having a secondary electron detector for detecting secondary electrons discharged from the surface of a specimen when a primary electron beam is irradiated on the specimen surface, generating an observation image signal on the basis of an amount of detected secondary electrons and outputting the observation image signal and an image signal processor for generating a display image of said specimen surface on the basis of the observation image signal delivered out of said secondary electron detector, said image signal processor including a display image memory unit and a histogram display unit, said method comprising the steps of:
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setting dynamic range reference values;
adjusting the dynamic range by inputting an observation image signal said secondary electron detector outputs, adjusting the dynamic range of the observation image signal on the basis of said dynamic range reference values set as above and outputting an adjusted observation image signal as an observation image signal after adjustment;
generating a display image by determining luminous intensity levels of individual pixels of an image to be displayed on the basis of the observation image signal after adjustment outputted in said dynamic range adjustment step and generating a display image;
generating a histogram of luminous intensity levels of the individual pixels of said generated display image and extracting from said generated histogram a luminous intensity peak value at which the frequency corresponding to a luminous intensity level is maximized as a luminous intensity peak value; and
displaying the generated histogram and the extracted luminous intensity peak value. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
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Specification