Donald Charles Forslund

US Patent:

56596308, Aug 19, 1997

Filed:

May 2, 1994

Appl. No.:

8/236008

Inventors:

Donald Charles Forslund - Wappingers Falls NY

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G06K 956
G06K 964

US Classification:

382149

Abstract:

An advanced manufacturing inspection system includes a database containing a rasterized reference image of the product inspected at the inspection resolution, allowing for accurate representation of shaped features. The full image is stored in the system database and is accessed and fed in a raster manner to an electronic registration subsystem which aligns the reference data to the incoming thresholded product inspection data. The aligned reference and inspection data are driven to all parallel defect detection channels. A classifier block selects the output of the desired channels for recording into a defect memory. Alternatively, the thresholding of the inspection gray scale signal is done after registration such that thresholding can be controlled by the reference data. The system is flexible in rendering abnormalities between reference and gray scale inspection images and functions independently of image resolution because the reference and inspection images are of the same resolution. The defects to be rendered are dependent upon that specified by the product designers and the process engineers.

US Patent:

54558999, Oct 3, 1995

Filed:

Dec 31, 1992

Appl. No.:

7/999323

Inventors:

Donald C. Forslund - Wappingers Falls NY

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G06F 1500

US Classification:

395140

Abstract:

An image data processing circuit achieves high speed by storing precomputed values for each combination of pairs or groups of inputs at each of a normalization, parabola fitting, arbitration, selection and anti-aliasing stages. Normalization of input values, possibly together with data truncation, as a first stage permits the use of small memories having identical contents in each stage of the processor.

US Patent:

52573257, Oct 26, 1993

Filed:

Dec 11, 1991

Appl. No.:

7/806944

Inventors:

Mark A. Casparian - Poughkeepsie NY
Donald C. Forslund - Wappingers Falls NY

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G06K 932

US Classification:

382 44

Abstract:

An apparatus and method electronically registers or aligns ideal raster data to real raster data for subsequent processes such as inspection systems and image processing systems. The electronic image registration system receives ideal and real images in scrolling buffers wide enough to hold the width of the image and high enough to hold the difference in a skewed image. In other words, the real and ideal upper corners must be contained within the buffers for any possible kind of misalignment or distortion. Each buffer has a selector to randomly access frames of image in the vertical direction. Each buffer image frame is moved horizontally out of its lower swath and into its new position in the next upper swath. Horizontal movement of each buffer is independent, such that adjustable sequential access in the horizontal direction is available. The real image stream buffer selector addressing and clocking are held fixed during the registration phase, while the ideal image stream buffer selector address and clocking are in constant adjustment.

US Patent:

55443389, Aug 6, 1996

Filed:

Dec 31, 1992

Appl. No.:

7/999049

Inventors:

Donald C. Forslund - Wappingers Falls NY

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

G06F 1200
G06F 1562

US Classification:

39542107

Abstract:

A camera image data processor provides scan conversion at extremely high speed while allowing static and dynamic correction of image data particularly for a high data output rate CCD image transducer in a confocal imaging system for automated optical inspection in manufacturing processes. Scan conversion and data collation is accomplished at bit rates in excess of 1 Gigabyte by accessing a double buffer memory with different sequences of addresses covering a field of an image corresponding to a field in the memory during read and write operations. Highly parallel output is provided for confocal height data in a raster line by providing a delay equal to an integral multiple of the access time for a field for each confocally imaged height within a sample.

US Patent:

56907842, Nov 25, 1997

Filed:

Jun 20, 1994

Appl. No.:

8/262204

Inventors:

William Harrington Brearley - Poughkeepsie NY
Donald Charles Forslund - Wappingers Falls NY
Douglas William Ormond - Wappingers Falls NY
Gerald Joseph Sliss - Poughkeepsie NY

Assignee:

International Business Machines Corporation - Armonk NY

International Classification:

H01L 21306
G01N 2100

US Classification:

1566261

Abstract:

An ion milling end point detection method for etching coated substrates is disclosed comprising the use of a light measurement of light passing through a monitor substrate (e. g. , glass coated with the same material at about the same thickness as the coated substrate to be etched) during the milling process, comparing the light values with a reference value and determining the end point of the milling process based on said values. Coated and uncoated monitor substrates may also be employed together and the values compared to determine the end point. An apparatus for determining the end point of an ion milling process is also disclosed.