IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,298,256
Granted Patent B2
US 12,298,256 · App. 18/071,749 · Granted May 13, 2025

Inspection method and inspection apparatus for performing the same

Inventors: Alexander Voronov (Suwon-si, KR); Jooseob Ahn (Hwaseong-si, KR); Hyeonsuk Guak (Suwon-si, KR); Kihun Kim (Cheonan-si, KR); Jekil Ryu (Suwon-si, KR); Hyeongmin Ahn (Yongin-si, KR)
Assignee: SAMSUNG DISPLAY CO., LTD.
G01N21/94G01N21/956G06T7/521G06T7/55G01N2021/9513G06T2207/10016G06T2207/20221
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,298,256
App. No.
18/071,749
Granted
May 13, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

An inspection method includes irradiating a laser to an inspection target, reflecting a first emitted laser from a transmission layer included in the inspection target, reflecting a second emitted laser from a scattering layer included in the inspection target, detecting a reference image from the second emitted laser; and measuring a separation distance obtained from the first emitted laser, based on the reference image.

Claims (52)

1. An inspection method comprising:

irradiating a laser to an inspection target;

reflecting a first emitted laser from a transmission layer included in the inspection target;

reflecting a second emitted laser from a scattering layer included in the inspection target;

detecting a reference image from the second emitted laser; and

measuring a separation distance obtained from the first emitted laser based on the reference image.

2. The inspection method of claim 1 , wherein the irradiating of the laser includes irradiating the laser to have an angle with respect to the inspection target.

3. The inspection method of claim 1 , wherein the first emitted laser and the second emitted laser do not intersect each other.

4. The inspection method of claim 1 , further comprising:

obtaining an image stream from the first emitted laser and the second emitted laser.

5. The inspection method of claim 4 , further comprising:

detecting the reference image having a uniform pattern in the image stream.

6. The inspection method of claim 1 , wherein the measuring of the separation distance includes measuring the separation distance based on an angle and between the laser and the inspection target and a vertical thickness of the transmission layer.

7. The inspection method of claim 1 , further comprising:

obtaining a sub-image by reflecting the separation distance in an image obtained from the first emitted laser.

8. The inspection method of claim 7 , further comprising:

merging the sub-image obtained by reflecting the separation distance with the image obtained from the first emitted laser.

9. An inspection apparatus comprising:

a laser generator that irradiates a laser to an inspection target;

an imaging part on which a first emitted laser and a second emitted laser are incident; and

a controller that measures a separation distance obtained from the first emitted laser, based on a reference image obtained from the second emitted laser, wherein

the first emitted laser is a laser reflected from a transmission layer included in the inspection target, and

the second emitted laser is a laser reflected from a scattering layer included in the inspection target.

10. The inspection apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the laser is irradiated to have an angle with respect to the inspection target.

11. The inspection apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the first emitted laser and the second emitted laser do not intersect each other.

12. The inspection apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the controller includes:

an image stream obtaining part that obtains an image stream from the first emitted laser and the second emitted laser.

13. The inspection apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the controller further includes a reference image detector that detects the reference image having a uniform pattern in the image stream.

14. The inspection apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the controller includes a separation distance measuring part that measures the separation distance based on an angle between the laser and the inspection target and a vertical thickness of the transmission layer.

15. The inspection apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the controller includes a sub-image obtaining part that obtains a sub-image by reflecting the separation distance in an image obtained from the first emitted laser.

16. The inspection apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the controller further includes an image merging part that merges the sub-image obtained by reflecting the separation distance in the image obtained from the first emitted laser.

17. The inspection apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the first and second emitted lasers reflected from the inspection target inclined with respect to the imaging part are incident on the imaging part.

18. The inspection apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the separation distance is measured by the following equation:

x

=

h

tan

⁡

(

a

)

wherein x is the separation distance, h is the vertical thickness of the transmission layer, and a is the angle between the laser and the inspection target substrate.

19. The inspection method of claim 6 , wherein the separation distance is measured by the following equation:

x

=

h

tan

⁡

(

a

)

wherein x is the separation distance, h is the vertical thickness of the transmission layer, and a is the angle between the laser and the inspection target substrate.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 30, 2022
From: AHN, JOOSEOB; GUAK, HYEONSUK; KIM, KIHUN; RYU, JEKIL; AHN, HYEONGMIN
To: SAMSUNG DISPLAY CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 062019/0826 →
Priority Claims (1)
KR 10-2021-0180573 · Dec 16, 2021 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20230194437A1 · Jun 22, 2023
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