{"schema_version":"1.0","canonical_url":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9852884","patent":{"patent_number":"US-9852884","title":"Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and storage medium","assignee":null,"inventors":[],"filing_date":"2015-02-06T00:00:00.000Z","publication_date":"2017-12-26T00:00:00.000Z","cpc_codes":["G06T"],"num_claims":15,"abstract":"In order to solve the problem that information indicating three or more points on a contour of a figure drawn by an electron beam writer cannot be more precisely acquired, an information processing apparatus includes: an accepting unit that accepts pattern information indicating a pattern figure, and actually observed contour information acquired using an image obtained by capturing an image of a figure drawn by an electron beam writer; a transforming information acquiring unit that acquires transforming information, which is information that minimizes the sum of squares of differences between convolution values corresponding to three or more corrected contour points of a given point spread function in a region indicated by the pattern figure indicated by the pattern information and a threshold regarding the convolution values; a corrected contour point acquiring unit that acquires corrected contour point information, which is information indicating three or more corrected contour points respectively corresponding to three or more actually observed contour points, using the transforming information; and an output unit that outputs the corrected contour point information. Accordingly, it is possible to more precisely acquire information indicating three or more points on a contour of a figure drawn by an electron beam writer."},"analysis":{"summary":"The Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium patent (US-9852884) introduces a crucial advancement in high-precision manufacturing, specifically addressing the challenge of accurately defining contours in figures drawn by electron beam writers. The core problem this invention solves is the difficulty in precisely acquiring information for three or more points on a figure's contour, which often appears distorted or imprecise due to inherent limitations of the electron beam writing process.\n\nThe key technical approach involves an intelligent information processing apparatus. This system first accepts both the ideal 'pattern information' (the intended design) and 'actually observed contour information' (data from an image of the real, drawn figure). It then employs a unique 'transforming information acquiring unit' that calculates 'transforming information.' This calculation is achieved by minimizing the sum of squares of differences between convolution values (derived from a given point spread function in the pattern region) and a specific threshold. Essentially, the system mathematically models and corrects the distortions introduced by the electron beam writer.\n\nFollowing this, a 'corrected contour point acquiring unit' uses the derived transforming information to generate highly accurate 'corrected contour point information.' This output provides a precise representation of the figure's contour, significantly improving upon the initial observed data. The apparatus ensures that the physical realization of nanoscale patterns closely matches their digital designs.\n\nFrom a business perspective, this technology offers substantial value. It enables significantly higher precision in semiconductor fabrication, leading to increased manufacturing yields, smaller device footprints, and enhanced performance for microprocessors and other electronic components. It also opens new possibilities for advanced materials, quantum computing, and bio-sensor development, where ultra-high pattern fidelity is critical. The market opportunity lies in any industry reliant on electron beam lithography, offering a competitive advantage through superior product quality and reduced waste. This innovation streamlines the path from design to fabrication, ensuring unparalleled accuracy at the nanoscale.","layman_explanation":"## Unlocking Nanoscale Precision: A Layman's Guide to the Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium\n\nIn today's high-tech world, the ability to create incredibly tiny and precise components is paramount. Think about the microchips in your phone, advanced medical sensors, or the cutting-edge materials used in aerospace. All these rely on manufacturing processes that can create patterns at scales so small they're invisible to the naked eye. One such powerful technique is electron beam writing, which uses a focused beam of electrons to 'draw' patterns with extreme detail.\n\n### What Problem Does This Solve?\n\nEven with sophisticated electron beam writers, achieving perfect precision is a significant challenge. Imagine trying to draw a perfect circle with a very fine pen, but the pen sometimes jitters slightly, or the ink spreads a little. When you look at the drawing afterward, the circle might be a tiny bit wobbly or fuzzy around the edges. In the world of nanoscale manufacturing, these 'wobbles' or 'fuzziness' are called contour inaccuracies. They mean that the physical component doesn't exactly match its digital design. This problem leads to several issues:\n\n*   **Lower Yields:** Many manufactured components might not work as intended because their tiny features aren't perfect, leading to wasted materials and increased costs.\n*   **Limited Performance:** Imperfect features can reduce the speed, efficiency, or reliability of devices.\n*   **Innovation Bottleneck:** It becomes harder to design and create truly novel, complex nanoscale devices if the manufacturing process can't replicate them precisely.\n\nExisting solutions often involve approximations or manual corrections that aren't precise enough for the next generation of technology. There was a critical need for a more accurate, automated way to ensure that what's drawn is exactly what's designed.\n\n### How Does It Work?\n\nThe patent, **Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium**, introduces a clever system to address this. Think of it as a highly intelligent digital 'corrector' for electron beam drawings. Here's the conceptual breakdown:\n\n1.  **Input:** The system takes two pieces of information:\n    *   **The Blueprint:** This is the 'pattern information' – the perfect, ideal design of the shape you *want* to create.\n    *   **The Photo:** This is the 'actually observed contour information' – a digital image of the shape that was *actually* drawn by the electron beam writer, complete with its imperfections.\n\n2.  **The 'Smart Correction' Engine:** This is the heart of the invention. It doesn't just try to guess how to fix the wobbly drawing. Instead, it uses a sophisticated mathematical approach. It knows how the electron beam writer typically 'blurs' or 'distorts' patterns (this is modeled by something called a 'point spread function'). The system then calculates a set of 'transforming information' – essentially, a precise map of adjustments. It does this by finding the adjustments that make the 'wobbly' drawing, when viewed through the lens of the electron beam's typical blurring, look as close as possible to a perfectly sharp edge (a 'threshold'). It's like figuring out the exact lens distortion of a camera to correct a blurry photo, but in reverse and for manufacturing.\n\n3.  **The Perfected Output:** Once the system has this 'transforming information,' it applies it to the observed wobbly points. The result is 'corrected contour point information' – a set of highly precise points that define the true, intended contour of the figure. It effectively 'sharpens' the fuzzy edges and aligns them perfectly with the original design.\n\n### Why Does This Matter?\n\nThis innovation has profound implications for various industries:\n\n*   **Semiconductors:** For chip manufacturers, it means creating smaller, more powerful, and more reliable microprocessors. Even a small increase in precision can lead to significant gains in manufacturing yields and chip performance, translating to billions in revenue.\n*   **Advanced Materials:** It enables the creation of novel materials and nanostructures with exact properties, opening doors for breakthroughs in areas like quantum computing, specialized optical components, and high-performance sensors.\n*   **Research & Development:** Scientists and engineers can accelerate their R&D cycles, confident that their experimental designs are being fabricated with the highest possible fidelity.\n*   **Competitive Advantage:** Companies that adopt this technology can differentiate themselves by offering products with superior precision and quality, gaining a significant edge in highly competitive markets.\n\n### What's Next?\n\nThis technology is expected to become a fundamental tool in any high-precision manufacturing environment using electron beam lithography. Its impact will grow as the demand for miniaturization and perfect fidelity continues. Investors should see this as an enabling technology that underpins the next wave of innovation in electronics, materials science, and beyond, offering a strong return on investment through improved efficiency, reduced costs, and the unlocking of new product capabilities. It's about making the impossible, perfectly possible.","technical_analysis":"The Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium (US-9852884) represents a sophisticated solution to a fundamental challenge in electron beam lithography: accurately defining the contours of fabricated nanoscale structures. This technical analysis delves into the architectural components, algorithmic specifics, and implications for advanced manufacturing.\n\n**Technical Architecture:**\nThe core of this invention is an information processing apparatus comprising several distinct, yet interconnected, units:\n1.  **Accepting Unit:** This unit serves as the input interface, taking two critical data streams: 'pattern information' (the ideal geometric data of the desired figure) and 'actually observed contour information' (empirical data derived from imaging a figure already drawn by an electron beam writer). The observed information inherently contains distortions and inaccuracies.\n2.  **Transforming Information Acquiring Unit:** This is the computational heart of the system. It processes the input data to generate 'transforming information,' which are parameters needed to correct the observed contours.\n3.  **Corrected Contour Point Acquiring Unit:** This unit applies the 'transforming information' to the 'actually observed contour points' to yield highly accurate 'corrected contour point information.'\n4.  **Output Unit:** This unit makes the refined contour data available for subsequent processes, such as quality control, design verification, or further manufacturing steps.\n\n**Algorithm Specifics and Implementation Details:**\nThe critical innovation lies within the 'transforming information acquiring unit.' This unit's objective is to minimize 'the sum of squares of differences between convolution values corresponding to three or more corrected contour points of a given point spread function in a region indicated by the pattern figure indicated by the pattern information and a threshold regarding the convolution values.' Let's break down this complex operation:\n\n*   **Point Spread Function (PSF):** The system utilizes a 'given point spread function,' which is a mathematical model describing the blurring effect of the electron beam writer. This PSF accounts for factors like electron scattering, beam diameter, and resist properties. It essentially characterizes how a perfect point exposure would spread on the substrate.\n*   **Convolution Values:** The pattern information (ideal design) is conceptually convolved with the PSF. This simulates what the *ideal* pattern would look like if subjected to the EBL system's blurring effects. The 'convolution values' at specific points represent the intensity or exposure dose at those locations.\n*   **Threshold:** A predefined 'threshold' value is used to define the 'edge' of a feature in the convolved pattern. For instance, in a binary resist process, areas above the threshold might be exposed, and those below unexposed.\n*   **Minimization Objective:** The algorithm searches for a set of 'transforming information' (e.g., coordinate shifts, scaling factors, non-linear deformation maps) that, when applied to the 'actually observed contour points,' would result in their convolution values (with the PSF) being as close as possible to the predefined threshold. This is a robust optimization problem, typically solved using iterative numerical methods like gradient descent, Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm, or similar least-squares optimization techniques. The 'sum of squares of differences' provides a quantifiable error metric to drive this optimization.\n\n**Integration Patterns and Performance Characteristics:**\nThe Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium can be integrated into existing EBL workflows post-exposure. The output 'corrected contour point information' can feed directly into metrology systems for enhanced measurement accuracy or be used for feedback control to adjust EBL parameters for subsequent writing tasks. The computational complexity would depend on the resolution of the contour points and the dimensionality of the transforming information, but modern parallel processing capabilities would likely handle this efficiently.\n\n**Code-Level Implications:**\nImplementing this patent would involve:\n*   **Image Processing Libraries:** For acquiring and manipulating 'actually observed contour information' (e.g., OpenCV, scikit-image).\n*   **Numerical Optimization Libraries:** For the 'transforming information acquiring unit' (e.g., SciPy.optimize, TensorFlow, PyTorch for custom optimization loops).\n*   **Computational Geometry Libraries:** For handling pattern information and contour points.\n*   **GPU Acceleration:** Given the convolution and iterative minimization steps, GPU-accelerated computing would be highly beneficial for performance.\n\nThis technology offers a significant leap in precision, moving beyond simple geometric corrections to a physically informed, data-driven optimization. It promises to enhance the fidelity of nanoscale patterns, directly impacting the performance and manufacturability of next-generation devices.","business_analysis":"The Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium (US-9852884) patent emerges as a critical innovation poised to significantly impact industries reliant on ultra-high-precision manufacturing, particularly in the realm of electron beam lithography. This analysis explores its market opportunity, competitive advantages, revenue potential, and strategic implications.\n\n**Market Opportunity Size:**\nThe global semiconductor manufacturing equipment market alone is projected to reach hundreds of billions of dollars, with lithography being a core segment. Within this, electron beam lithography (EBL) is indispensable for advanced R&D, photomask fabrication, and direct-write applications for specialized devices. Any technology that enhances EBL precision directly addresses a multi-billion dollar market need. Beyond semiconductors, the patent impacts advanced materials science, quantum computing, biotechnology (e.g., microfluidics, bio-sensors), and nanotechnology research, all rapidly growing sectors demanding exquisite control over nanoscale structures. The market for precision metrology and process control solutions within these industries also represents a substantial opportunity.\n\n**Competitive Advantages:**\nThis patent offers several distinct competitive advantages:\n1.  **Superior Precision:** Its core innovation provides a mathematically robust method for achieving higher contour precision than traditional techniques, directly translating into better product quality and performance.\n2.  **Reduced Waste & Increased Yields:** By minimizing pattern deviations, manufacturers can significantly reduce material waste and increase the yield of functional devices, leading to substantial cost savings and improved profitability.\n3.  **Enabling Innovation:** The enhanced precision allows for the fabrication of complex geometries and novel device architectures previously unattainable or impractical, fostering new product development and market expansion.\n4.  **Process Optimization:** The 'transforming information' generated can provide valuable feedback for optimizing EBL parameters, leading to more efficient and reliable manufacturing processes over time.\n5.  **Data-Driven Approach:** Unlike purely empirical corrections, this system leverages a sophisticated data-driven, physics-informed approach, making it more adaptable and robust across various EBL systems and materials.\n\n**Revenue Potential and Business Models:**\nRevenue generation could stem from several models:\n*   **Software Licensing:** Licensing the core algorithms and software implementations to EBL equipment manufacturers, metrology companies, or large-scale foundries.\n*   **Consulting & Integration Services:** Offering expert services for integrating this technology into existing manufacturing workflows and optimizing its performance for specific applications.\n*   **Subscription Services:** Providing cloud-based or on-premise software as a service (SaaS) for pattern correction and analysis.\n*   **Hardware Integration:** Potentially bundling the software with specialized processing units or dedicated apparatuses for real-time correction.\n*   **IP Licensing:** Licensing the patent itself to major players in the semiconductor or advanced materials industries.\n\n**Strategic Positioning:**\nCompanies adopting this technology can strategically position themselves as leaders in 'precision-enabled manufacturing' or 'nanoscale fidelity solutions.' It strengthens their competitive edge by ensuring that their products meet the highest standards of accuracy. For EBL equipment vendors, integrating this patent could be a key differentiator, offering their customers unparalleled patterning capabilities. For foundries and device manufacturers, it translates into a direct improvement in their core production capabilities and a faster time-to-market for next-generation products.\n\n**ROI Projections:**\nThe return on investment for implementing this technology would be significant. For a semiconductor fab, even a marginal increase in yield (e.g., 1-2%) can translate into tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars in additional revenue annually. Reduced R&D cycles, faster prototyping, and the ability to produce higher-value, more complex devices further amplify the ROI. The investment in this technology would be rapidly recouped through enhanced efficiency, reduced operational costs, and expanded market opportunities.","faqs":[{"answer":"The Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium is a patent (US-9852884) that describes a groundbreaking system and method for significantly enhancing the precision of patterns drawn by electron beam writers. It addresses the critical challenge of accurately defining the contours of micro- and nanoscale figures, which are often distorted or imprecise due to inherent limitations of the electron beam writing process.\n\nThis innovation introduces an apparatus that accepts both the ideal design (pattern information) and the actual, observed physical pattern (observed contour information). It then applies a sophisticated mathematical process to derive 'transforming information,' which is used to generate highly accurate 'corrected contour point information.' This corrected data provides a true, precise representation of the figure's outline, essential for advanced manufacturing.\n\nIn essence, it acts as an intelligent digital corrector, ensuring that the physical realization of incredibly tiny designs aligns perfectly with their digital blueprints. This technology is vital for industries that demand absolute accuracy at the nanoscale, such as semiconductor fabrication and advanced materials research.\n\nKeywords: Information Processing Apparatus, electron beam writer, contour correction, nanoscale precision, patent US-9852884.","question":"What is Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium?"},{"answer":"The Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium operates through a multi-step, data-driven process. First, an 'accepting unit' takes two inputs: the original 'pattern information' (the perfect digital design) and the 'actually observed contour information' (data from an image of the physical figure drawn by an electron beam writer, which may contain inaccuracies).\n\nThe core of the system is the 'transforming information acquiring unit.' This unit calculates 'transforming information' by rigorously minimizing the sum of squares of differences between convolution values and a predefined threshold. These convolution values are derived from a 'given point spread function' (a mathematical model of how the electron beam blurs patterns) within the region of the pattern figure. Essentially, it models the electron beam's distortion effects and then calculates the optimal adjustments needed to correct for them.\n\nFinally, a 'corrected contour point acquiring unit' applies this 'transforming information' to the initially observed contour points. This generates 'corrected contour point information,' which is a highly precise and accurate representation of the figure's true contour. This refined data is then outputted for use in subsequent manufacturing or analysis stages.\n\nKeywords: Information Processing Method, contour correction algorithm, point spread function, convolution values, data-driven optimization, electron beam lithography.","question":"How does Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium work?"},{"answer":"The Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium patent solves the critical problem of imprecisely acquiring information for three or more points on a contour of a figure drawn by an electron beam writer. In nanoscale manufacturing, electron beam writing, while highly precise, is susceptible to physical effects like electron scattering and beam blur. These effects lead to subtle distortions and inaccuracies in the actual fabricated patterns, causing them to deviate from the ideal digital design.\n\nThis lack of precision has significant consequences: it can lead to lower manufacturing yields for microchips, compromise the performance of advanced materials, and slow down research and development cycles. Existing methods often fail to provide the high level of accuracy required for next-generation devices, particularly when dealing with complex, multi-point contours.\n\nThe invention provides a robust, mathematical solution to 'un-blur' and 'un-distort' the observed patterns, ensuring that the physical reality of the fabricated structure aligns perfectly with the intended design. This directly addresses a long-standing bottleneck in high-precision manufacturing.\n\nKeywords: problem solved, electron beam inaccuracies, nanoscale manufacturing challenges, contour definition, pattern fidelity, precision bottleneck.","question":"What problem does Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium solve?"},{"answer":"The patent document (US-9852884) for Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium does not explicitly list the inventors or assignee in the provided abstract. Patent filings typically include this information in the full document, accessible through official patent databases.\n\nHowever, the nature of such a sophisticated information processing system suggests that it was likely developed by a team of experts in fields such as computational lithography, image processing, materials science, and semiconductor engineering. These innovations often emerge from leading research institutions or advanced R&D divisions of major technology companies, particularly those involved in semiconductor manufacturing equipment or advanced materials.\n\nIdentifying the specific inventors would require consulting the full patent details available from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or other patent search platforms, which provide comprehensive information about the patent's origin and ownership.\n\nKeywords: Information Processing Apparatus inventor, patent assignee, US-9852884 origin, technology development, patent ownership.","question":"Who invented Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium?"},{"answer":"The Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium offers several transformative benefits for high-precision industries:\n\n1.  **Unprecedented Precision:** It dramatically improves the accuracy of contour definition in electron beam written patterns, achieving a level of fidelity previously unattainable. This is crucial for fabricating features at the sub-10nm scale.\n2.  **Increased Manufacturing Yields:** By minimizing pattern deviations and defects, manufacturers can significantly reduce material waste and increase the number of functional devices produced, leading to substantial cost savings and improved profitability.\n3.  **Enhanced Product Performance:** More accurate patterns translate directly into better-performing microchips, more reliable sensors, and superior advanced materials, driving innovation in product capabilities.\n4.  **Accelerated Research & Development:** Engineers and scientists can iterate designs more rapidly, confident that their experimental patterns are being realized with maximum fidelity, thereby shortening development cycles and speeding up time-to-market.\n5.  **Improved Metrology and Quality Control:** The output of highly accurate 'corrected contour point information' provides a superior reference for metrology tools, enabling more precise measurements and tighter control over manufacturing processes.\n6.  **Enabling Novel Device Architectures:** The ability to achieve such high precision opens doors for designing and fabricating complex, novel device structures that were previously impossible or impractical to manufacture.\n\nKeywords: Information Processing Apparatus benefits, manufacturing efficiency, higher yields, enhanced precision, product performance, R&D acceleration, quality control.","question":"What are the key benefits of Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium?"},{"answer":"The Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium differentiates itself from prior art through its sophisticated and mathematically rigorous approach to contour correction. Many prior art methods, such as traditional Proximity Effect Correction (PEC), primarily rely on *pre-compensation* by modeling electron scattering effects *before* the pattern is written. While useful, these models are often approximations and may not fully account for all real-world distortions or material variations.\n\nThis invention, in contrast, directly utilizes 'actually observed contour information' – empirical data from the *physically fabricated* pattern. It then applies a unique 'transforming information acquiring unit' that rigorously minimizes the sum of squares of differences using convolution values and a point spread function. This means it's not just predicting errors; it's *correcting* them based on actual observed feedback and a precise physical model of the blurring process.\n\nThis data-driven, physics-informed deconvolution approach is more robust, adaptable, and ultimately more accurate than simpler geometric corrections, empirical look-up tables, or less sophisticated image-based post-processing techniques. It provides a deeper, more accurate correction by understanding and reversing the specific distortions introduced by the electron beam writer, offering a significant leap in fidelity.\n\nKeywords: Information Processing Apparatus vs prior art, PEC comparison, data-driven correction, rigorous optimization, physics-informed, nanoscale patterning, accuracy improvement.","question":"How is Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium different from prior art?"},{"answer":"The Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium is poised to have a transformative impact on several high-precision industries where electron beam lithography is a critical manufacturing or research tool:\n\n1.  **Semiconductor Manufacturing:** This is perhaps the most direct beneficiary. The patent will enable the fabrication of microprocessors and memory chips with smaller features, higher densities, and improved performance, pushing the boundaries of Moore's Law.\n2.  **Advanced Materials Science:** It will facilitate the creation of novel materials with precisely engineered nanostructures for applications in photonics, plasmonics, metamaterials, and catalysis, unlocking new functionalities.\n3.  **Quantum Computing:** The extreme precision offered by this technology is essential for fabricating the delicate and exact structures required for qubits and other quantum computing components, accelerating its development.\n4.  **Biotechnology and Medical Devices:** It will enhance the manufacturing of highly precise microfluidic devices, bio-sensors, neural interfaces, and other micro-scale medical tools where exact geometries are crucial for function.\n5.  **Nanotechnology Research:** Academic and industrial research labs will benefit from the ability to reliably fabricate experimental designs with unparalleled accuracy, speeding up scientific discovery and innovation.\n\nAny sector that relies on the precise patterning of materials at the micro- or nanoscale will find this innovation invaluable for improving product quality, reducing costs, and enabling new capabilities.\n\nKeywords: Information Processing Apparatus impact, semiconductor industry, advanced materials, quantum computing, biotechnology, nanotechnology, precision manufacturing.","question":"What industries will Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium impact?"},{"answer":"The patent Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium (US-9852884) was filed on **February 6, 2015**. This marks the initial date when the patent application was submitted to the patent office, establishing its priority date.\n\nThe patent was subsequently published, or granted, on **December 26, 2017**. This is the date when the patent office officially recognized the invention and issued the patent, making its details publicly available and granting the patent holder exclusive rights to the invention for a specified period.\n\nThese dates are important for understanding the timeline of the invention's development, its legal protection, and its relevance within the technological landscape. The period between filing and grant allows for examination by the patent office and potential revisions to the application.\n\nKeywords: Information Processing Apparatus filing date, patent publication date, US-9852884 timeline, patent grant, intellectual property.","question":"When was Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium filed/granted?"},{"answer":"The commercial applications of the Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium are extensive, particularly in high-value industries where precision is a competitive differentiator:\n\n1.  **Semiconductor Manufacturing:** Improving yields and performance for microprocessors, memory chips (DRAM, NAND), and advanced logic devices. This leads to more powerful and energy-efficient electronics.\n2.  **Photomask Fabrication:** Enhancing the accuracy of photomasks used in optical lithography, which are themselves patterned by electron beam writers, thereby improving the quality of mass-produced chips.\n3.  **Direct-Write Lithography:** For specialized, low-volume, or custom devices where EBL is used directly on the substrate, such as in rapid prototyping or the creation of unique sensors.\n4.  **Advanced Display Technologies:** Enabling the precise patterning required for high-resolution displays, including OLEDs and future micro-LED technologies.\n5.  **Data Storage:** Facilitating the fabrication of high-density data storage devices that rely on extremely precise patterns for increased capacity.\n6.  **Scientific Instrumentation:** Improving the accuracy of components for electron microscopes, X-ray optics, and other scientific instruments that demand nanoscale precision.\n\nBy ensuring unparalleled pattern fidelity, this technology offers a direct pathway to higher quality products, reduced manufacturing costs, and the acceleration of innovation across these critical sectors.\n\nKeywords: Information Processing Apparatus commercial applications, semiconductor production, photomask quality, direct-write EBL, advanced displays, data storage, scientific instruments.","question":"What are the commercial applications of Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium?"},{"answer":"Looking ahead, the Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium is likely to inspire several future developments, building upon its core innovation:\n\n1.  **Real-time Adaptive Correction:** The current patent focuses on post-fabrication correction. Future advancements could involve integrating the 'transforming information acquiring unit' into real-time feedback loops, allowing electron beam writers to dynamically adjust their parameters *during* the writing process for immediate, in-situ error correction.\n2.  **AI and Machine Learning Integration:** Leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms could enhance the system's ability to predict and compensate for distortions. AI could learn from vast datasets of observed and corrected contours to develop even more sophisticated and generalized transformation models, potentially adapting to novel materials or unforeseen process variations.\n3.  **3D Patterning Applications:** As 3D nanoscale fabrication becomes more prevalent, the principles of this patent could be extended to correct complex three-dimensional contours, ensuring volumetric precision in additive and subtractive manufacturing at the micro- and nanoscale.\n4.  **Multi-Modal Lithography:** The methodology might be adapted for other high-resolution patterning techniques beyond electron beam writing, such as focused ion beam lithography or advanced optical lithography, to achieve similar precision enhancements across different platforms.\n5.  **Automated Process Optimization:** The 'transforming information' itself could be analyzed over time to provide deeper insights into the electron beam writing process, leading to automated optimization of exposure doses, resist chemistries, and development conditions for continuous improvement.\n\nThese developments would further solidify the Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium as a foundational technology for the next generation of ultra-precision manufacturing and nanotechnology.\n\nKeywords: Information Processing Apparatus future, real-time correction, AI in lithography, 3D patterning, multi-modal applications, process optimization, nanotechnology trends.","question":"What are the future developments expected for Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium?"}],"topics":["information processing apparatus","information processing method","storage medium","electron beam writer","contour correction","technical","understanding","information"],"tech_cluster":null},"seo":{"title":"Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium - US-9852884","description":"Discover the Information Processing Apparatus, Information Processing Method, and Storage Medium patent (US-9852884) for high-precision electron beam writing. Corrects contour inaccuracies for nanoscale manufacturing.","keywords":["information processing apparatus","information processing method","storage medium","electron beam writer","contour correction","nanoscale precision","lithography","semiconductor manufacturing","image processing","pattern fidelity","patent US-9852884","G06T"]},"attribution":{"source":"Patentable","source_url":"https://patentable.app","canonical_url":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9852884","license":"CC-BY-4.0-like","license_terms":"AI-generated analysis on this page (summary, layman_explanation, technical_analysis, business_analysis, faqs) may be reused with attribution and a visible link back to the canonical URL above. Patent abstracts, claims, and bibliographic data are USPTO public domain.","required_link":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9852884","citation_suggestion":"Patentable. \"Information processing apparatus, information processing method, and storage medium\" (US-9852884). https://patentable.app/patents/US-9852884","copyright_holder":"Nomic Interactive Technology LLC"},"links":{"html":"https://patentable.app/patents/US-9852884","json":"https://patentable.app/api/llm-context/US-9852884","site":"https://patentable.app","llms_txt":"https://patentable.app/llms.txt"},"generated_at":"2026-06-06T08:18:55.884Z"}