Patent ID: 6697517
Filing Date: 2004-02-24
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
A method for optical character recognition and particle detection, comprising:transmitting an optical signal along a first path into a vacuum chamber of a multi-chamber semiconductor processing system including at least one substrate processing chamber; moving a support member having a substrate disposed thereon from a first position to a second position in the vacuum chamber, wherein at least a portion of the substrate having alphanumeric characters inscribed thereon is moved through the first path, and wherein the support member is positionable in one or more chambers of the multi-chamber processing system; detecting the presence of a reflected portion of the optical signal reflected by the alphanumeric character's geometry; generating signal signature information representing the alphanumeric character's geometry; comparing the signal signature information to a reference signal signature information; and determining an identity of the substrate based on a difference between the signal signature information and the reference signal signature information.