JP5208292B2 - Object processing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for processing an object in a microscope.

  Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose conventional systems related to a measuring apparatus including a microscope. In Patent Document 1, after performing a macro inspection for visually observing scratches and dirt on the wafer surface, a micro inspection is performed in which a portion where the characteristics are confirmed is examined with a microscope. As a configuration, a macro inspection unit capable of rotating and tilting the wafer is provided between the carrier and the micro inspection unit. Wafer inspection is often performed by separate apparatuses, a macro inspection apparatus and a micro inspection apparatus. By adopting such a configuration, the inspection process can be simplified.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, an objective lens and a focus setting objective lens sandwiching an object on the same optical axis are provided, and after performing preliminary measurement with the focus setting objective lens, main measurement is performed with the objective lens. . Thereby, even if the thickness of the glass layer of the object is changed, the focus of the objective lens can be set with high accuracy.

  As described above, a measurement apparatus including a microscope often has a system configuration in which an observation condition is determined by measuring various characteristics of an object in advance to perform a main measurement. The reason for this is that the work other than the observation can be reduced as much as possible in the main measurement by determining the observation conditions in advance from the result of the preliminary measurement.

Special Registration 0295864 Special registration 037115013

  However, in recent years, when a large amount of objects are processed using a microscope, the preliminary measurement of each object and the main measurement (imaging) as in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are processed in a shorter time than those sequentially processed. It is demanded.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a microscope capable of improving the processing throughput of an object.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging unit that images an object projected on an imaging device by a projection optical system, and the object for setting an imaging condition used when the imaging unit images the object. In a processing method of an object in a microscope having a measurement unit that measures an object, in parallel with conveying the object from a position where measurement is performed by the measurement unit to a position where imaging is performed by the imaging unit, The imaging condition used when the said imaging part images the said target object is set using the measurement result of the said target object in a measurement part, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging unit that images an object including a specimen projected onto an imaging device by a projection optical system, and an imaging condition that is used when the imaging unit images the object. In the object processing method in the microscope having a measurement unit that measures the object, the position of the object in the measurement unit in order to set an imaging condition used when imaging the object, At least one of posture, thickness, swell, transmission amount, reflected light amount measurement, and measurement of the shape dimension of the specimen is performed, and in parallel with the measurement by the measurement unit, the object in the imaging unit is It is characterized by imaging different objects.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an imaging unit that images an object projected onto an image sensor by a projection optical system, and the object for setting an imaging condition used when the imaging unit images the object. In a processing method of an object in a microscope having a measurement unit that measures an object, imaging an object different from the object in the imaging unit in parallel with the measurement of the object in the measurement unit, As imaging conditions used when imaging the object by the imaging unit, the position or orientation of the object when imaging the object by the imaging unit, the light amount or wavelength of light illuminating the object, At least one of an imaging area, an imaging time, a visual field shielding area, and an optical path length correction amount for imaging an object is set.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the processing throughput of an object by performing an operation of setting an imaging condition while conveying the object from the measurement unit to the imaging unit. In addition, by performing the imaging in the imaging unit and the measurement in the measurement unit in parallel, the preliminary measurement of the next target can be performed in parallel during the imaging of a certain target. Thereby, it is possible to improve the processing throughput of the object.

System configuration example of a microscope according to the first embodiment of the present invention Example of measurement sequence of the microscope according to the first embodiment of the present invention System configuration example of a microscope according to the second embodiment of the present invention Example of measurement sequence of microscope according to second embodiment of the present invention

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, first, an object is measured by a measuring unit in order to set an imaging condition to be used when the object is imaged, and then the imaging condition is parallel to the conveyance of the object to the imaging unit. Set up. Thereby, the processing throughput of the object can be improved. More preferably, after that, in order to set the imaging condition used when imaging the next object in parallel with the imaging of the object by the imaging unit, the next object is measured by the measurement unit. As a result, the processing throughput of the object can be further improved.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a system configuration example in the microscope according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show a system configuration for parallel processing of imaging of an object and preliminary measurement. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the imaging unit 1 that captures an object captures a projection image obtained via a first illumination unit 20 and a projection unit 40 that illuminate the first object 10. A first image processing system 51 that processes images obtained by the unit 50 and the first imaging unit 50 is configured. Here, the first image pickup unit 50 includes a plurality of image pickup elements (CCD, CMOS, photoelectric tube, etc., the shape of which is an area sensor, a line sensor, etc.) or a single image pickup element. Can be used.

  The first object 10 includes a first cover glass 11, a first specimen 12, and a first slide glass 13 (here, the cover glass may be omitted). The first illumination unit 20 includes a first light source 21, a first collimator 22 that shapes a light beam from the first light source 21, and a first illumination optical system 23 including a lens and a mirror, for example. A mercury lamp, LED, or the like is used for the first light source 21. The projection unit 40 includes a projection optical system 41 and a lens barrel 43. The projection optical system 41 includes an optical system composed of only a lens and an optical system combining a lens and a mirror. Further, it is possible to use a drive adjustment mechanism 42 for the optical element that corrects aberrations of the optical system by adjusting the position and posture of the lens and mirror. Further, an optical element such as a parallel plate 44 for correcting the optical path length is placed in the optical path such as the inside of the lens barrel 43, between the lens barrel 43 and the first imaging unit 50, or between the lens barrel 43 and the first object 10. A mechanism that can be taken in and out can also be provided. Thereby, for example, when the thickness of the cover glass is changed, the optical path length can be corrected. When the cover glass is thin, a thick parallel plate is disposed, and when the cover glass is thick, a thin parallel plate is disposed.

  The measuring unit 2 includes a displacement meter 60, a second illumination unit 25, a second imaging unit 61, a second image processing system 62, a displacement signal processing system 63, and the like. In the measurement unit 2, by performing preliminary measurement of the second object 15, a parameter for determining an imaging condition used when the imaging unit 1 images the second object 15 is detected.

  The second object 15 includes a second cover glass 16, a second specimen 17, and a second slide glass 18 (here, the cover glass may be omitted). The second illumination unit 25 includes a second light source 26, a second collimator 27 that shapes the light beam from the second light source 26, and a second illumination optical system 28 including, for example, a lens and a mirror. The image processing system 62 processes the image obtained by the second imaging unit 61. Here, the second image pickup unit 61 includes a plurality of image pickup elements (CCD, CMOS, phototube, etc., the shape of which is an area sensor, a line sensor, etc.) arranged or one image pickup element. Can be used.

  By performing parallel processing of imaging in the imaging unit 1 having such a device configuration and measurement in the measurement unit 2, it is possible to improve processing throughput when continuously processing a plurality of objects. The control unit 100 performs control for performing parallel processing.

  Further, the conveyance of the object between the imaging unit 1 and the measurement unit 2 is performed by a conveyance device 70 including a rotary coarse movement stage 71, a first fine movement stage 72, and a second fine movement stage 73. The first fine movement stage 72 and the second fine movement stage 73 hold the object by vacuum suction or a mechanical method, respectively. The first fine movement stage 72 and the second fine movement stage 73 are moved in the x, y, and z directions with respect to the rotary coarse movement stage 71 by a linear motor or the like. A linear motor, a USM, an AC motor, a DC motor, or the like can be used as a drive source for the rotary coarse movement stage 71. Here, a conveying device using a coarse / fine movement type stage is shown, but if the positioning accuracy of the rotary coarse movement stage 71 is sufficient, a structure without using the fine movement stage may be used. In addition, the rotary coarse movement stage 71, the first fine movement stage 72, and the second fine movement stage 73 are provided with openings so that light from the illumination unit is illuminated onto the object.

  A sequence when continuously processing a plurality of objects is shown in FIGS. (A) In Step 1, the object A is carried onto the first fine movement stage 72, and preliminary measurement is performed by the measurement unit 2. At this time, if the object A is, for example, a preparation A, its position, posture, swell, and the like are measured using the displacement meter 60. As the displacement meter 60, a laser displacement meter, an ultrasonic displacement meter, or an optical displacement meter that takes in reflected light obtained by obliquely making light incident on a slide can be used. The second illumination unit 25 and the second imaging unit 61 measure the thickness of the cover glass constituting the preparation, the amount of transmitted or reflected light, and the shape of the specimen included in the preparation.

  (B) In Step 2, the conveyance device 70 is rotated to convey the preparation A to the imaging unit 1, and then the preparation B is carried onto the second fine movement stage 73. Here, in parallel with these operations, the control unit 100 sets the imaging conditions for the preparation A for which preliminary measurement was performed in Step 1. Here, the setting of the imaging conditions refers to, for example, adjusting the position and posture of the preparation using the first fine movement stage 72 based on the swell measurement result of the preparation A using the displacement meter 60 and adjusting the projection optical system 41. Adjustment to the focal position. In addition, adjustment of the illumination light amount, wavelength, imaging time, and field-of-view shielding area of the first illumination unit 20 based on the transmitted light amount or the reflected light amount obtained from the second illumination unit 25 and the second imaging unit 61 is also included. . Furthermore, the presence region of the specimen included in the preparation may be set as an imaging region to be processed by the imaging device, or aberrations may be corrected using the position and orientation drive adjustment mechanism 42 such as a lens and a mirror. Can be mentioned. Here, if only the presence region of the specimen included in the preparation is processed as the imaging region, only the image processing of necessary pixels is required, so that further improvement in measurement throughput can be realized. For this reason, it is effective to employ a CMOS sensor controlled by a partially readable address circuit for the first imaging unit 50. The region where the specimen is present can be specified from the transmitted light amount or reflected light amount of the preparation A. The presence area is set as an imaging area, and an image is acquired by processing only signals from pixels located at the corresponding positions.

  In the next (c) Step 3, the preparation B is preliminarily measured in parallel with the imaging of the preparation A. After the preparation A and the preliminary measurement of the preparation B are completed, the imaging conditions in the imaging unit 1 are set in accordance with the preparation B in parallel with the rotation of the transport device 70. At this time, when wiring or the like is provided in the transport device 70, it is effective to reverse the rotation direction from Step 2 or to use a slip ring so as not to be wound.

  Next, (d) Prepare A is carried out and Step C is carried in at Step 4. (E) After performing the imaging of the preparation B and the preliminary measurement of the preparation C in Step 5 in parallel, the imaging conditions in the imaging unit 1 are set in accordance with the preparation C in parallel with the rotation of the transport device 70. After that, Step 4 and Step 5 are repeated.

  Thus, throughput can be improved by performing imaging and preliminary measurement in parallel, and further performing conveyance and setting of imaging conditions in parallel.

(Second Embodiment)
A second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. The system configuration shown here is different from the first embodiment mainly in the configuration of the object transfer device and the measurement unit.

  The measuring unit 2 includes a third illumination unit 30, a Shack-Hartmann sensor 37, a second imaging unit 61, a second image processing system 62, a displacement signal processing system 63, and the like. In the measurement unit 2, by performing preliminary measurement of the second object 15, a parameter for determining an imaging condition used when the imaging unit 1 images the second object 15 is detected.

  The second object 15 includes a second cover glass 16, a second specimen 17, and a second slide glass 18. The third illumination unit 30 includes, for example, a third light source 31, a third collimator 32 that shapes a light beam from the third light source 31, a beam splitter 34, a third illumination optical system 33 including a convex lens 35 and a concave lens 36. . Here, the convex lens 35 and the concave lens 36 are for correcting aberrations by enlarging or reducing illumination light, and are not limited to the number and configuration shown in the figure. The image processing system 62 processes the image obtained by the second imaging unit 61.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the transfer device includes a first transfer device 75 and a second transfer device 78, and a first coarse movement stage 76 and a first fine movement stage 72, and a second coarse movement stage 79 and a second fine movement stage, respectively. 73. The first coarse motion stage 76 and the second coarse motion stage 79 have magnets, and a coil provided on the stator 81 constitutes a Lorentz type planar motor. The first fine movement stage 72 and the second fine movement stage 73 are moved in the x, y, and z directions with respect to the first coarse movement stage 76 and the second coarse movement stage 79, respectively, by a linear motor or the like. Here, although a coarse / fine movement configuration is used, a configuration in which a fine movement stage is not used may be used by using a stator in which a plurality of coils are stacked. Further, a configuration in which a coil is used on the first coarse movement stage 76 and the second coarse movement stage 79 side and a magnet is used on the stator 81 side may be used. Further, a flat pulse motor may be used instead of the Lorentz type flat motor described above.

  The stator 81, the first coarse movement stage 76 and the second coarse movement stage 79, the first fine movement stage 72, and the second fine movement stage 73 are provided with openings so that the light from the illumination unit is illuminated onto the object. ing. Since other points are the same as those of the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

  A sequence when continuously processing a plurality of objects is shown in FIGS. (A) In Step 1, the object A is carried onto the transport device and preliminary measurement is performed. At this time, if the object A is a preparation A, the swell or the like is measured using the third lighting unit 30 and the Shack-Hartmann sensor 37 or the like. And the thickness of the cover glass which comprises a preparation, the transmitted or reflected light quantity is measured using the 3rd illumination unit 30, the 2nd imaging unit 61 grade | etc.,. (B) In Step 2, the first transport device 75 and the second transport device 78 are moved horizontally to exchange positions, transport the preparation A to the imaging unit 1, and then transport the preparation B into the measurement unit 2. Here, in parallel with these operations, the control unit 100 sets imaging conditions for the preparation A for which preliminary measurement was performed in Step 1.

  In the next (c) Step 3, the control unit 100 preliminarily measures the preparation B in parallel with the imaging of the preparation A. Then, after the imaging of the preparation A and the preliminary measurement of the preparation B are completed, the imaging conditions in the imaging unit 1 are adjusted to the preparation B in parallel with the horizontal movement of the first conveyance device 75 and the second conveyance device 78 and exchanging positions. To set. At this time, when wiring or the like is provided in the first transport device 75 and the second transport device 78, it is effective to reverse the moving direction from Step 2 so as not to wind.

  Next, (d) Prepare A is carried out and Step C is carried in at Step 4. (E) After performing the imaging of the preparation B and the preliminary measurement of the preparation C in Step 5 by the control unit 100 in parallel, the first conveyance device 75 and the second conveyance device 78 are horizontally moved to exchange positions and the imaging unit. In parallel, the imaging condition in 1 is set in accordance with the preparation C.

  After that, Step 4 and Step 5 are repeated. In the above embodiment, the stage is used as the transfer device, but it is also possible to transfer using a belt conveyor or a robot hand.

  As described above, the first embodiment has described the configuration using the rotary stage for the preparation movement and the displacement meter for the preliminary measurement. In the second embodiment, a configuration using a planar motor for the preparation movement and a Shack-Hartmann sensor for the preliminary measurement has been described. However, a rotary stage may be used for the preparation movement, a Shack-Hartmann sensor may be used for the preliminary measurement, a planar motor may be used for the preparation movement, and a displacement meter may be used for the preliminary measurement.

  Considering the idea of the present invention, the configuration of the slide movement and the preliminary measurement is not particularly limited as long as the imaging of one object and the preliminary measurement of the other object can be performed in parallel.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Imaging part 2 Measuring part 10 1st target object 15 2nd target object 20 1st illumination unit 25 2nd illumination unit 30 3rd illumination unit 40 Projection unit 50 1st imaging unit 61 2nd imaging unit 100 Control part

Claims (7)

An imaging unit that images the object projected onto the image sensor by the projection optical system; a measurement unit that measures the object to set an imaging condition used when the imaging unit images the object; In a method for processing an object in a microscope having
In parallel with transporting the object from the position where measurement is performed by the measurement unit to the position where imaging is performed by the imaging unit, the object is measured by the imaging unit using the measurement result of the object in the measurement unit. An object processing method, wherein an imaging condition used for imaging is set.   The imaging conditions include the position or orientation of the object when the imaging unit captures the object, the light amount or wavelength of light that illuminates the object, the imaging area when imaging the object, and the imaging time The object processing method according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of: a field-of-view shielding region, and an optical path length correction amount. An imaging unit that images an object including a specimen projected onto an imaging element by a projection optical system, and a measurement that measures the object to set an imaging condition used when imaging the object by the imaging unit In a processing method of an object in a microscope having a part,
In order to set imaging conditions used when imaging the object, the measurement unit measures the position, posture, thickness, swell, transmitted light amount, reflected light amount of the object, and measures the shape dimension of the specimen. Do at least one of them,
In parallel with the measurement by the measurement unit, the imaging unit performs imaging of an object different from the object. The object further includes a cover glass,
The measurement unit performs at least one of the position, posture, thickness, undulation, transmitted light amount, reflected light amount measurement of the object, measurement of the shape of the specimen, and measurement of the thickness of the cover glass. The processing method of the target object of Claim 3 characterized by these.   The imaging conditions include the position or orientation of the object when the imaging unit captures the object, the light amount or wavelength of light that illuminates the object, the imaging area when imaging the object, and the imaging time 5. The object processing method according to claim 3, further comprising at least one of a field-of-view shielding region and an optical path length correction amount. An imaging unit that images the object projected onto the image sensor by the projection optical system; a measurement unit that measures the object to set an imaging condition used when the imaging unit images the object; In a method for processing an object in a microscope having
In parallel with the measurement of the object in the measurement unit, to image an object different from the object in the imaging unit,
As imaging conditions used when imaging the object by the imaging unit, the position or orientation of the object when imaging the object by the imaging unit, the light amount or wavelength of light illuminating the object, A processing method for an object, wherein at least one of an imaging area, an imaging time, a visual field shielding area, and an optical path length correction amount when imaging the object is set. The method of processing an object according to any one of claims 1 to 6 , wherein the object is a preparation.

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