SuMMIT Developer’s Kit

Metrology automation needs can be quite varied. Therefore, we created the optional Developer's Kit. This allows you to effectively integrate SuMMIT processing capabilities within their own programs or scripts using any programming scripting language you desire. 

The Developer’s Kit also includes access to an Image Processing Server Mode, which allows SuMMIT to monitor a selected directory for new image files. When those image files appear, they will be processed and those results saved in a batch-output file.

With the SuMMIT Developer’s Kit, SuMMIT can be run directly from within the Matlab command line giving Matlab users access to SuMMIT raw and processed data for further analysis and visualization. This allows Matlab users to integrate SuMMIT data into their own processing programs.

The real power of the Developer's Kit is realized when it is combined with SuMMIT, which allows the built-in processing algorithms to be augmented with user-defined processing capabilities through user-defined m-files called SummitUserFence.m, SummitUserProc.m, SummitUserLER.m and SummitUserFilt.m. 

These functions give you complete control over the four key elements of the data-reduction process: 

  1. Automatic detection of the lines 

  2. Extraction of the line edges with sub-pixel resolution 

  3. Calculation of the LER or LWR from the edge or width data along the length of the line 

  4. Prefiltering of the image

Skeletons of these functions are included in the SuMMIT install directory within the optional Developer's Kit. 

  • Using the SummitUserFence function, the user is given access to the SEM image as well as a variety of configuration data and is expected to return a set of vertical fence positions demarking each line to be analyzed in the image 

  • Using the SummitUserProc function, you are given access to a single line image, as well as a variety of configuration data, and are expected to return the locations of the left and right edges in pixels (or fractional pixels) 

  • Using the SummitUserLER function, the user is given access to the set of extracted line edges (widths) and is expected to return the LER (LWR) values 

Visualization and reporting is completely handled by the SuMMIT GUI, similar to a system in which built-in processing is used. Any combination of these functions can be implemented and their use individually selected through the recipe tool.

In addition to the integrated user-defined function, Matlab-code language can be used to add further functionality to SuMMIT via a large group of global variables that has been created to facilitate the integration of SuMMIT. For example, you can add new menu items, dialog boxes and even completely new toolboxes to provide some additional functionality. 

Another typical use of the Developer's Kit might be to add macros and assign them to menu items. 

The possibilities are vast and are only limited by the capabilities of Matlab itself.