Optical measurement arrangement having an ellipsometer

US6600560B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Leica Microsystems Jena GmbH · DE

Inventors

• Hakon Mikkelsen · Göttingen, DE
• Horst Engel · Gießen, DE
• Lambert Danner · Wetzlar, DE
• Christof Stey · Wetzlar, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: May 2, 2001
• Grant date: Jul 29, 2003
• Expiry date: May 5, 2021

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01N21/211
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

The invention concerns an optical measurement arrangement having an ellipsometer, in which an incident beam (16) of polarized light is directed at an angle of incidence &agr;≠0° onto a measurement location (M) on the surface of a specimen (P). Information concerning properties of the specimen (P), preferably concerning layer thicknesses and optical material properties such as refractive index n, extinction coefficient k, and the like, is obtained from an analysis of a return beam (17) reflected from the specimen (P). The incident beam (16) is directed by a mirror objective (15) onto the surface of the specimen (P). The return beam (17) is also captured by the mirror objective (15). The result is to create an optical measurement arrangement, operating on the ellipsometric principle, which has a simple, compact configuration and permits a high measurement accuracy down to the sub-nanometer range.