System Options: Patterning
7-17
C O N F I D E N T I A L
– limited rights
User Manual
Revision A
Feb 2018
Pattern Types
Patterns are automatically assigned to one or more particular processes.
They are distinguishable by a different crosshatch within the display.
The
Rectangle
/
Line
/
Circle
/
Polygon
pattern is dedicated to both
milling and deposition.
The
Bitmap
pattern enables importing bitmaps as a pattern. It must be 24
bit RGB bitmap, each pixel consists of:
•
Red
component – actually not used
•
Green
component – determines if the beam is blanked.
Any value other then 0 activates the beam
•
Blue
component – determines the dwell time per pixel:
If the value is 0, the pixel is skipped (no milling or deposition proceeds).
If the value is 1 (border), the dwell time is the lowest (approx. 100 ns).
If the value is 255 (border), the dwell time is identical as it is set for the
pattern.
The dwell time for values in between the border values is linearly interpolated.
Note
When drawing a bitmap, we recommend using black (0 / 0 / 0) for no milling points and white (255 / 255 / 255) for milling
points.
Do not forget to optimize other properties, such as the Application file, Z size, leading edge, etc.
The
Stream File
pattern is created as an ASCII text or binary file that directly addresses the patterning DAC (Digital
Analog Converter) and produces custom pattern files. The 16-bit DAC is used, so the patterning field is divided into
65 536 steps in both the X- and Y-axes.
The file must begin with an
s
, indicating a stream file. The second line defines the number of loop repeats (
40
×).
The third line indicates the total number of X, Y coordinates (pixels) in one loop (5 × 5 =
25
in this case). The
96
figure represents the dwell time in units of 100 ns (=9.6
µs
).
Note
Stream files cannot be created directly from the UI; use any suitable text processor. There are several stream file types that
are recognizable by the first header line (s16 / s16,25ns / s16,DAC / s16,25ns,DAC).
When two patterns overlap, it is possible to join them into one by using the
Build Polygon
functionality.
Selected patterns can be multiplied by using
Build
Array
functionality. The Dimension / Pitch means
the number of repetitions / distance.
It is possible to convert any selected Annotation
or Measurement graphic to a Bitmap type
pattern shape with the use of the
Convert from
Annotation
item.
s16
40
25
96 1229 2867
96 1639 2867
96 2048 2867
96 2457 2867
96 2867 2867
96 1229 2457
96 1639 2457
96 2048 2457
96 2457 2457
96 2867 2457
96 1229 2048
96 1639 2048
96 2048 2048
96 2457 2048
96 2867 2048
96 1229 1639
96 1639 1639
96 2048 1639
96 2457 1639
96 2867 1639
96 1229 1229
96 1639 1229
96 2048 1229
96 2457 1229
96 2867 1229
