Automatic defect review and classification system

• US 20080004742A1
• Filed: 08/24/2007
• Published: 01/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hitachi High-Tech Company Limited (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (Hitachi, Ltd.)
• Inventors: Hirai, Takehiro, Aoki, Kazuo, Obara, Kenji
• Granted Patent: US 7,584,012 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/110
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/41875 characterised by quality surveillance of production
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/32218 Sort workpieces as function of quality data
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

The invention proposes a system that interrupts a processing associated with an ADC having low priority when an ADC processing cannot catch up with ADR by an ADC alone that is not under execution but uses an ADC for an ADR having high priority. To preferentially execute ADR/ADC having high priority, the invention employs an algorithm for serially selecting ADR/ADC in the order of higher processing capacity (in the order of greater numerical values in the expression by a DPH unit) from among ADR/ADCs that have the lowest priority, no matter whether the ADR/DC is now under execution or not.

Claims

1. An automatic defect review and classification system including at least one automatic defect review apparatus (hereinafter called “

ADR apparatus”

) for specifically observing defect portions of a sample and automatically acquiring images and at least one automatic defect classification function (hereinafter called “

ADC apparatus”

) for automatically classifying the defects by using the images acquired by said ADR apparatus in accordance with the kind of the defects, comprising;

a function which display a status for combination of said ADR apparatus and said ADC apparatus to a GUI;

wherein said ADC apparatus to be connected to said ADR apparatus can be changed manually on the GUI.

2. An automatic defect review and classification system according to claim 1, wherein a connection of the ADR apparatus and the ADC apparatus is represented by an arrow on the GUI, and the ADC apparatus can be changed manually by changing a connection destination of the arrow.

3-16. -16. (canceled)