Method and apparatus for measuring a surface profile of a sample

US7405089B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Infineon Technologies AG · DE

Inventors

• Harald Bloess · Radebeul, DE
• Uwe Wellhausen · Dresden, DE
• Peter Reinig · Dresden, DE
• Peter Weidner · Soest, DE
• Pierre-Yves Guittet · Veldhoven, NL
• Ulrich Mantz · Heroldstatt, DE

Key dates

• Filing date: Mar 31, 2005
• Grant date: Jul 29, 2008
• Expiry date: Apr 20, 2026

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H01L22/24
• WIPO field: Semiconductors
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

In order to measure a surface profile of a sample, an imprint of the surface profile to be examined is produced in a transfer material. The sample contains processed semiconductor material and is in particular a patterned semiconductor wafer or part of a patterned semiconductor wafer. The transfer material is deformable and curable under suitable ambient conditions. The transfer material may be a thermoplastic material or a material which is deformable as desired after application on a substrate and cures in one case by means of irradiation with photons having a suitable wavelength or alternatively heating. The transfer material may be configured in such a way that the imprint produced is the same size as or alternatively of smaller size than the surface profile. The imprint produced is subsequently measured by known methods.