JULY 15--Cognex Corp. (Natick, MA; www.cognex.com), a supplier of machine-vision systems, has expanded the capabilities of its VisionPro PC-based machine-vision systems with the addition of new high-performance vision software tools. The new tools reduce setup time, improve process yield, and provide new options for pattern training in a range of semiconductor and other manufacturing applications that require general-purpose machine vision for inspection, measurement, identification, and guidance.
The VisionPro suite now includes Synthetic PatMax, which provides accurate origin definition using synthetic fiducial creation for ideal reference marks. The suite also has PatInspect--a robust, fast, and highly accurate defect-detection tool. Using PatMax to locate objects with high precision under a wide range of conditions, PatInspect then detects differences in the object compared to a trained image. By ignoring acceptable variations in appearance, PatInspect avoids false rejects due to part rotation, scale changes, lighting variations, and other factors. In wafer-defect inspection applications, for example, PatInspect identifies micro defects such as node-level and particle defects on SEM images, as well as macro defects on visible light images such as incomplete CMP and other process imperfections.
