Techniques for measuring the thickness of a film formed on a substrate
US5166080A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 29, 1991 |
| Grant date | Nov 24, 1992 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 29, 2011 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2021/4742
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The thickness of a thin film on a substrate surface is determined by measuring its emissivity and temperature with a non-contact optical technique and then calculating the film thickness from these measurements. The thickness of the film can be determined by this technique in situ, while it is being formed and substantially in real time, thus allowing the measurement to control the film forming process. This has application to controlling the formation of dielectric and other material layers on a semiconductor substrate in the course of manufacturing electornic integrate circuits, including automatically terminating the process at its endpoint when the layer has reached a desired thickness.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.