Patent ID: 7533313

Claim:
A method for converting data, comprising: generating a first data vector of data measurements related to processing of at least one workpiece, each element of the first data vector being associated with at least one of a plurality of positions on the workpiece; generating a cumulative distribution of the elements in the first data vector; identifying an outlier region of the data measurements based on the cumulative distribution by: performing a regression analysis using elements of the first data vector falling within a first predetermined range on the cumulative distribution to generate a regression line; determining an intercept value where the regression line intercepts a predetermined threshold; and identifying the outlier region based on the intercept value; and generating a binary outlier data vector from the first data vector by assigning a first binary value to the data elements in the first data vector in the outlier region and assigning a second binary value to the remaining data elements in the first data vector.