X-ray imaging for patterned film measurement
US7166838B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | May 23, 2005 |
| Grant date | Jan 23, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 29, 2025 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N23/2252
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An x-ray metrology system includes an e-beam generator to cause a test sample to emit x-rays, x-ray optics for focusing the x-rays, and an x-ray imager to generate an image of the test sample from the focused x-rays. Because the x-ray imager provides a direct representation of the x-ray emission characteristics of the test sample, the resolution of a measurement taken using such a sensor is limited only by the resolution of the sensor (and any focusing optics), rather than by the amount of e-beam spread in the thin film. The x-ray imaging can be performed for object planes at the test sample that are not parallel to the test sample, thereby allowing vertical dimension data to be accurately generated by the x-ray imaging system.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.