Method and device for measuring the thickness of thin films near a sample's edge and in a damascene-type structure
US6256100A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 27, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jul 3, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 27, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01B11/0666
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A method for measuring a structure that contains overlying and underlying films in a region where the overlying film's thickness rapidly decreases until the underlying film is exposed (e.g., an edge-exclusion structure). The method includes the steps of: (1) exciting acoustic modes in a first portion of the region with at least one excitation laser beam; (2) detecting the acoustic modes with a probe laser beam that is either reflected or diffracted to generate a signal beam; (3) analyzing the signal beam to determine a property of the structure (e.g., the thickness of the overlying layer) in the first portion of the region; (4) translating the structure or the excitation and probe laser beams; and (5) repeating the exciting, detecting, and analyzing steps to determine a property of the structure in a second portion of the region.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.