Method of and apparatus for detecting pattern defects by means of a plurality of inspecting units each operating in accordance with a respective inspecting principle
First Claim
1. A method of inspecting an object to detect pattern defects thereof, comprising the steps of:
- (a) providing a plurality of inspecting units each of which operates in accordance with a respective inspecting principle;
(b) defining, in a defining means, an inspection domain which forms a source of the inspection signals and an inhibition domain which forms a source of the inhibition signals, said inspection and inhibition domains being defined for each inspecting unit on the object;
(c) obtaining groups of domain signals on the basis of each image of the defining means, each said group of domain signals comprising inspection signals and inhibition signals;
(d) storing groups of domain signals in a memory in addresses thereof which correspond to positions on the object, each said group of domain signals having a particular relation to a respective one of the inspecting units;
(e) binarizing an image of the object;
(f) reading out the domain signals of every group of the domain signals from the memory according to inspection position addresses on the object;
(g) controlling the operation of each inspecting unit according to the type of domain signals read out therefor from the memory; and
(h) forming an inspection decision according to an output signal of the inspecting units.
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Abstract
An apparatus for inspecting pattern defects in circuit board conductors or other images has inspecting units which perform inspection operations based on various pattern matching approaches, which include design rule checking and expansion/contraction processing. Each of the inspecting units inspects a part of the pattern of an object. The part of a pattern is defined by a respective inspection and inhibition domain defining signals. The domain signals are formed with the aid of a scanning device and a binarizing circuit, a CAD system and a converter, a digitizer and a converter and the like. The apparatus then displays inspection decisions derived from each inspecting unit on a display unit, with respect to the different domains.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of inspecting an object to detect pattern defects thereof, comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a plurality of inspecting units each of which operates in accordance with a respective inspecting principle; (b) defining, in a defining means, an inspection domain which forms a source of the inspection signals and an inhibition domain which forms a source of the inhibition signals, said inspection and inhibition domains being defined for each inspecting unit on the object; (c) obtaining groups of domain signals on the basis of each image of the defining means, each said group of domain signals comprising inspection signals and inhibition signals; (d) storing groups of domain signals in a memory in addresses thereof which correspond to positions on the object, each said group of domain signals having a particular relation to a respective one of the inspecting units; (e) binarizing an image of the object; (f) reading out the domain signals of every group of the domain signals from the memory according to inspection position addresses on the object; (g) controlling the operation of each inspecting unit according to the type of domain signals read out therefor from the memory; and (h) forming an inspection decision according to an output signal of the inspecting units. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 17, 18, 19)
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11. An apparatus for inspecting and finding pattern defects of an object to be inspected, comprising:
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image signal generating means for generating image signals of the object; a plurality of inspecting units for inspecting and finding pattern defects, if any, on the object by using the image signals of the object, each said inspecting unit operating in accordance with a respective inspecting principle; domain signal generating means for generating domain signals expressing an image pattern defined on the object, said image pattern having an inspection domain and an inhibition domain; a memory for storing groups of the domain signals, each said group of domain signals having a particular relation to a respective one of the inspecting units; an access controller for controlling reading and writing of the domain signals in the memory according to positions of the image pattern; an inspection controller for controlling the operation of each inspecting unit in response to the respective domain signals read out from the memory; and forming means for forming an inspection decision in response to output signals of the inspecting units. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification