Line profile asymmetry measurement
US7639371B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 3, 2009 |
| Grant date | Dec 29, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 3, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG03F7/70633
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
This disclosure provides methods for measuring asymmetry of features, such as lines of a diffraction grating. On implementation provides a method of measuring asymmetries in microelectronic devices by directing light at an array of microelectronic features of a microelectronic device. The light illuminates a portion of the array that encompasses the entire length and width of a plurality of the microelectronic features. Light scattered back from the array is detected. One or more characteristics of the back-scattered light may be examined by examining data from the complementary angles of reflection. This can be particularly useful for arrays of small periodic structures for which standard modeling techniques would be impractically complex or take inordinate time.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.