Patent Grant
10269535
Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-192503, filed on Sep. 22, 2014, is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to an information processing device that performs data processing on measurement data measured by an analyzer, and displays the data processing results on a display section, and a data processing method.
An analyzer such as an Auger electron spectroscope (AES) is used in the field of sample analysis in order to analyze the elements present on the surface of a sample (e.g., JP-A-2008-20386).
When performing data processing on measurement data (e.g., spectrum, depth profile, Auger image, or secondary electron image) measured by the analyzer, the user must perform an operation that reads the measurement data, and then perform an operation that sequentially selects the desired data processing method (e.g., differential process, smoothing process, or automatic qualitative analysis process) from a menu, and applies the selected data processing method to the measurement data using a user interface that is displayed on a display. In this case, since the user must repeat an identical operation when implementing routine data processing, the operation takes time, and an erroneous operation easily occurs.
Several aspects of the invention may provide an information processing device and an information processing method that can improve operability and data processing efficiency.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided an information processing device that performs data processing on measurement data measured by an analyzer, and displays data processing results on a display section, the information processing device including:
a placement section that places a result display area within a display screen based on operation information output from an operation section, the data processing results being displayed within the result display area;
a setting section that sets at least one data processing method designated by a user to the result display area based on the operation information; and
a data processing section that assigns the measurement data to the result display area based on the operation information, performs data processing on the measurement data assigned to the result display area using the data processing method set to the result display area, and displays the data processing results within the result display area.
According to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided an information processing method that performs data processing on measurement data measured by an analyzer, and displays data processing results within a display screen displayed on a display section, the information processing method including:
a placement step that places a result display area within the display screen based on operation information output from an operation section, the data processing results being displayed within the result display area;
a setting step that sets at least one data processing method designated by a user to the result display area based on the operation information; and
a data processing step that assigns the measurement data to the result display area based on the operation information, performs data processing on the measurement data assigned to the result display area using the data processing method set to the result display area, and displays the data processing results within the result display area.
(1) According to one embodiment of the invention, there is provided an information processing device that performs data processing on measurement data measured by an analyzer, and displays data processing results on a display section, the information processing device including:
a placement section that places a result display area within a display screen based on operation information output from an operation section, the data processing results being displayed within the result display area;
a setting section that sets at least one data processing method designated by a user to the result display area based on the operation information; and
a data processing section that assigns the measurement data to the result display area based on the operation information, performs data processing on the measurement data assigned to the result display area using the data processing method set to the result display area, and displays the data processing results within the result display area.
According to another embodiment of the invention, there is provided an information processing method that performs data processing on measurement data measured by an analyzer, and displays data processing results within a display screen displayed on a display section, the information processing method including:
a placement step that places a result display area within the display screen based on operation information output from an operation section, the data processing results being displayed within the result display area;
a setting step that sets at least one data processing method designated by a user to the result display area based on the operation information; and
a data processing step that assigns the measurement data to the result display area based on the operation information, performs data processing on the measurement data assigned to the result display area using the data processing method set to the result display area, and displays the data processing results within the result display area.
According to the above embodiments of the invention, the user can cause the image processing device to perform data processing on the measurement data using the data processing method designated in advance, and display the data processing results within the result display area by merely designating an arbitrary data processing method that is set to the result display area, and performing an operation that assigns the measurement data to the result display area. Specifically, since routine data processing on the measurement data can be implemented by performing a simple operation, it is possible to improve operability and data processing efficiency.
(2) In the information processing device, the data processing section may assign the measurement data that is being measured by the analyzer to the result display area based on the operation information, perform data processing on the measurement data that has been assigned to the result display area and is being measured in real time using the data processing method set to the result display area, and display data processing results within the result display area in real time.
In the information processing method, the data processing step may assign the measurement data that is being measured by the analyzer to the result display area based on the operation information, perform data processing on the measurement data that has been assigned to the result display area and is being measured in real time using the data processing method set to the result display area, and display data processing results within the result display area in real time.
According to this configuration, since routine data processing on the measurement data that is being measured can be implemented by performing a simple operation, it is possible to improve operability and data processing efficiency.
(3) In the information processing device, the placement section may place a plurality of the result display areas within the display screen at a position and a size designated by the user.
In the information processing method, the placement step may place a plurality of the result display areas within the display screen at a position and a size designated by the user.
According to this configuration, the user can cause the information processing device to perform data processing on the measurement data using the data processing method set to each result display area, and display the data processing results within each result display area, and easily prepare an analysis report in which the data processing results are arranged at the desired position and the desired size by merely performing an operation that assigns the measurement data to each of a plurality of the result display areas that are placed at an arbitrary position and an arbitrary size.
(4) In the information processing device, the setting section may link a first result display area and a second result display area based on the operation information, and the data processing section may perform data processing on first measurement data assigned to the first result display area and second measurement data assigned to the second result display area using the data processing method set to the first result display area, and display data processing results within the first result display area.
In the information processing method, the setting step may link a first result display area and a second result display area based on the operation information, and the data processing step may perform data processing on first measurement data assigned to the first result display area and second measurement data assigned to the second result display area using the data processing method set to the first result display area, and display data processing results within the first result display area.
According to this configuration, the user can cause the information processing device to perform data processing on the first measurement data and the second measurement data using the data processing method set to the first result display area, and display the data processing results within the first result display area by merely designating an arbitrary data processing method that is set to the first result display area, linking the first result display area and the second result display area, and performing an operation that assigns the first measurement data to the first result display area, and assigns the second measurement data to the second result display area. Specifically, since routine data processing on a plurality of pieces of measurement data can be implemented by performing a simple operation, it is possible to improve operability and data processing efficiency.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that the following exemplary embodiments do not unduly limit the scope of the invention as stated in the claims. Note also that all of the elements described below should not necessarily be taken as essential elements of the invention.
1. Configuration
An information processing device 10 performs data processing on measurement data measured by an analyzer 1, and displays the data processing results on a display section. An example in which the analyzer 1 is an Auger electron spectroscope (i.e., a scanning electron microscope that includes an Auger electron spectrometer) is described in this embodiment. Note that the invention may also be applied to a case where the analyzer 1 is an electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA), an X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS or ESCA), or the like.
The information processing device 10 acquires spectral data, elemental map (Auger image) data, secondary electron image data, depth profile (i.e., the concentration distribution in the depth direction) data, and line profile data as the measurement data measured by the analyzer 1. The information processing device 10 includes a processing section 20, an operation section 30, a display section 40, and a storage section 50.
The operation section 30 allows the user to input operation information, and outputs the input operation information to the processing section 20. The function of the operation section 30 may be implemented by hardware such as a keyboard, a mouse, a button, a touch panel, or a touch pad.
The display section 40 displays an image generated by the processing section 20. The function of the display section 40 may be implemented by an LCD, a CRT, a touch panel (that also functions as the operation section 30), or the like.
The storage section 50 stores a program that causes a computer to function as each section of the processing section 20, and various types of data, and serves as a work area for the processing section 20. The function of the storage section 50 may be implemented by a hard disk, a RAM, or the like.
The processing section 20 (computer) performs a process that performs data processing on the measurement data, a process that displays the data processing results within the display screen displayed on the display section 40, and the like. The function of the processing section 20 may be implemented by hardware such as a processor (e.g., CPU or DSP), or a program. The processing section 20 includes a placement section 22, a setting section 24, and a data processing section 26.
The placement section 22 performs a process that places a result display area (within which the data processing results are displayed) within the display screen displayed on the display section 40 based on the operation information output from the operation section 30. In one embodiment of the invention, a plurality of result display areas that respectively correspond to a plurality of types of measurement data are provided. The placement section 22 may place one result display area or a plurality of result display areas designated by the user within the display screen at a position and a size designated by the user.
The setting section 24 sets at least one data processing method designated by the user to the result display area designated by the user based on the operation information output from the operation section 30. The storage section 50 stores setting data that represents each result display area to which at least one data processing method has been set. Examples of the data processing method include a smoothing process, a differential process, an image blending (blending) process, and the like. The data processing method that can be set to the result display area is specified corresponding to the type of result display area.
The setting section 24 may link a plurality of result display areas (i.e., first result display area and second result display area) based on the operation information output from the operation section 30. Note that the setting section 24 may link one result display area to one result display area based on the operation information, or may link two or more result display areas to one result display area based on the operation information.
The data processing section 26 assigns the measurement data designated by the user to the result display area designated by the user based on the operation information output from the operation section 30, performs data processing on the measurement data assigned to the result display area using the data processing method set to the result display area, and displays the data processing results within the result display area.
The data processing section 26 may assign the measurement data that is being measured by the analyzer 1 to the result display area based on the operation information output from the operation section 30, perform data processing on the measurement data that has been assigned to the result display area and is being measured in real time using the data processing method set to the result display area, and display the data processing results within the result display area in real time.
The data processing section 26 may perform data processing on first measurement data assigned to a first result display area and second measurement data assigned to a second result display area (that is a result display area that is linked to the first result display area) using the data processing method set to the first result display area, and display the data processing results within the first result display area. The data processing section 26 may perform data processing on the measurement data respectively assigned to a second result display area and a third result display area that are linked to a first result display area using the data processing method set to the first result display area, and display the data processing results within the first result display area.
2. Method
A method according to one embodiment of the invention is described below with reference to the drawings.
Measurement data MD (one or more pieces of measurement data MD) (i.e., an icon that represents the measurement data) measured by the analyzer 1 is displayed in the left area of the display screen illustrated in
When the user has performed an operation that selects (designates) the measurement data MD, and moves (drags and drops) the selected measurement data MD to the result display area RF using a pointing device (operation section 30) (e.g., mouse) in the state illustrated in
In the example illustrated in
The user can set an arbitrary data processing method to the result display area placed (displayed) within the display screen.
When the user has performed an operation that selects (designates) the icon “differentiation” (data processing method PM), and moves (drags and drops) the icon “differentiation” to the result display area RF in the state illustrated in
According to this embodiment, the user can cause the image processing device to perform data processing on the measurement data using the data processing method designated in advance, and display the data processing results within the result display area by merely designating an arbitrary data processing method that is set to the result display area, and performing an operation that assigns the measurement data to the result display area. Specifically, since routine data processing on the measurement data can be implemented by performing a simple operation, it is possible to improve operability and data processing efficiency.
Note that the measurement data that is being measured by the analyzer 1 can also be assigned to the result display area. In the example illustrated in
In this embodiment, the user can place a plurality of result display areas (that are identical or different in type) within the display screen at an arbitrary position and an arbitrary size. In the example illustrated in
When the user has performed an operation that designates measurement data MD1 (elemental map data), and assigns the measurement data MD1 to the result display area RF1 in the state illustrated in
Specifically, the user can easily prepare an analysis report in which a plurality of data processing results are arranged at the desired position and the desired size by merely designating the data processing method corresponding to each of a plurality of result display areas that are placed at an arbitrary position and an arbitrary size, and performing an operation that assigns the measurement data to each of the plurality of result display areas.
In this embodiment, a plurality of result display areas can be linked. An example in which an RGB blending process is performed using three pieces of elemental map data is described below. In the example illustrated in
When the user has performed an operation that assigns measurement data MD4 to the result display area RF4, assigns measurement data MD5 to the result display area RF5, and assigns measurement data MD6 to the result display area RF6 in the state illustrated in
An example in which the elemental map obtained by the RGB blending process is subjected to a blending (map blending) process to generate a secondary electron image is described below. In the example illustrated in
When the user has performed an operation that assigns the measurement data MD4 to the result display area RF4, assigns the measurement data MD5 to the result display area RF5, and assigns the measurement data MD6 to the result display area RF6, and performed an operation that assigns secondary electron image data (measurement data) (not illustrated in
Specifically, the user can implement routine data processing (e.g., image blending and arithmetic operation) on a plurality of pieces of measurement data, and easily prepare an analysis report of a plurality of pieces of measurement data by merely linking a plurality of result display areas, designating the data processing method corresponding to each of the plurality of result display areas, and performing an operation that assigns the measurement data to each of the plurality of result display areas.
An example in which data processing is performed on a depth profile is described below. In the example illustrated in
When the user has performed an operation that assigns the measurement data MD (depth profile data) to the result display area RF9 in the state illustrated in
The invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Various modifications and variations may be made of the above embodiments. The invention includes various other configurations substantially the same as the configurations described in connection with the above embodiments (e.g., a configuration having the same function, method, and results, or a configuration having the same objective and effects). The invention also includes a configuration in which an unsubstantial element described in connection with the above embodiments is replaced by another element. The invention also includes a configuration having the same effects as those of the configurations described in connection with the above embodiments, or a configuration capable of achieving the same objective as that of the configurations described in connection with the above embodiments. The invention further includes a configuration in which a known technique is added to the configurations described in connection with the above embodiments.
Although only some embodiments of the invention have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art would readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.
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