High throughout image for processing inspection images
First Claim
1. An image processing system for analyzing images of a specimen to determine whether the specimen contains defects, the system comprising:
- a plurality of processors for receiving image data from a specimen and for at least a subset of the processors each analyzing one or more selected patch(es) of such image data to determine whether the specimen has a defect;
a plurality of buses for coupling the processors together, wherein one or more the bus(es) have the following specifications;
a high speed data rate of about 50 gigabits per second or more and an error rate less than about 10−
16, wherein the processors are distributed between at least two boards so as to allow the system to be scaled to include additional processors and wherein the one or more bus(es) that couple processors of two different boards have the high speed data rate; and
a clock module for generating a master clock for use by the processors and a pixel clock for defining pixels within the image data with respect to an angle clock of the inspection tool used for collecting the image data from the specimen, wherein the angle clock has a fixed number of pulses per a specific angle of rotation of the specimen, wherein the image data is collected from a rotating specimen and the pixel clock and synchronization signals are generated so that pixel resolution is altered according to a radial position of the specimen so as to obtain a substantially constant pixel resolution along the radius, wherein the synchronization signals indicate a relative position of the pixel clock with respect to the master clock.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is an image processing system for analyzing images of a specimen to determine whether the specimen contains defects. The system includes a plurality of processors for receiving image data from a specimen and for analyzing one or more selected patch(es) of such image data to determine whether the specimen has a defect. The system also includes a plurality of buses for coupling the processors together, wherein the bus has the following specifications: a data rate of about 50 gigabits per second or more and an error rate less than about 10−16. In one implementation, the buses are low voltage differential signal type buses, and in another implementation, the buses are hyper transport type buses.
53 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An image processing system for analyzing images of a specimen to determine whether the specimen contains defects, the system comprising:
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a plurality of processors for receiving image data from a specimen and for at least a subset of the processors each analyzing one or more selected patch(es) of such image data to determine whether the specimen has a defect; a plurality of buses for coupling the processors together, wherein one or more the bus(es) have the following specifications;
a high speed data rate of about 50 gigabits per second or more and an error rate less than about 10−
16, wherein the processors are distributed between at least two boards so as to allow the system to be scaled to include additional processors and wherein the one or more bus(es) that couple processors of two different boards have the high speed data rate; anda clock module for generating a master clock for use by the processors and a pixel clock for defining pixels within the image data with respect to an angle clock of the inspection tool used for collecting the image data from the specimen, wherein the angle clock has a fixed number of pulses per a specific angle of rotation of the specimen, wherein the image data is collected from a rotating specimen and the pixel clock and synchronization signals are generated so that pixel resolution is altered according to a radial position of the specimen so as to obtain a substantially constant pixel resolution along the radius, wherein the synchronization signals indicate a relative position of the pixel clock with respect to the master clock. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An image processing system for analyzing images of a specimen to determine whether the specimen contains defects, the system comprising:
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a clock module for generating a master clock and a pixel clock; a plurality of inspection signal processors for receiving different sets of optical signals obtained from an inspection tool while inspecting a specimen, wherein each inspection signal processor is operable to convert its received set of optical signals into digital image data and output such image data at a particular time slot of a the master clock sent to a next inspection signal processors if present, wherein the pixel clock is generated so as to define pixels within the image data with respect to an angle clock of the inspection tool used for collecting the image data from the specimen, wherein the angle clock has a fixed number of pulses per a specific angle of rotation of the specimen, wherein the image data is collected from a rotating specimen and the pixel clock and synchronization signals are generated so that pixel resolution is altered according to a radial position of the specimen so as to obtain a substantially constant pixel resolution along the radius, wherein the synchronization signals indicate a relative position of the pixel clock with respect to the master clock; a distributor processor for receiving the image data from the plurality of inspection signal processors and for dividing the image data into a plurality of image patches; and a plurality of analyzing processors associated with the distributor, wherein the distributor is further operable to distribute selected image patches to selected analyzing processors for parallel processing to determine whether the specimen has a defect, wherein the inspection signal processors are distributed among a plurality of boards so that there is at least one inspection signal processor per board and the signal processors are serially coupled together by a high speed bus having the following specifications;
a data rate of about 50 gigabits per second or more and an error rate less than about 10−
16. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification