Method for determining nitrogen concentration in a film of nitrided oxide material
US6313466A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 12, 1999 |
| Grant date | Nov 6, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 12, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L21/02348
- WIPO fieldSemiconductors
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
In a method for determining the nitrogen concentration in a film of nitrided oxide material formed over a semiconductor wafer during fabrication of a semiconductor device an optical property of the film of nitrided oxide material is determined. The determined optical property is used to determine the nitrogen concentration in the film of nitrided oxide material. In one embodiment the optical property, e.g., extinction coefficient, k, is correlated to the nitrogen concentration measured by secondary ion mass spectroscopy. In a method of making a semiconductor device a film of nitrided oxide material is formed over a plurality of semiconductor wafers in a fab. The nitrogen concentration in the film of nitrided oxide material is monitored by periodically subjecting one of the wafers to an in-line test in the fab.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.