Heated wafer carrier profiling

US9653340B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Veeco Instruments Inc. · US

Inventors

• Vadim Boguslavskiy · Princeton, US
• Joshua Mangum · Sarasota, US
• Matthew King · Montville, US
• Earl Marcelo · Berkeley Heights, US
• Eric A. Armour · Pennington, US
• Alexander I. Gurary · Bound Brook, US
• William E. Quinn · Boulder, US
• Guray Tas · Flanders, US

Key dates

• Filing date: May 30, 2012
• Grant date: May 16, 2017
• Expiry date: Sep 7, 2033

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01N2021/745
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

An apparatus includes a carrier rotatable about an axis of rotation where the carrier has a top surface adapted to hold at least one semiconductor wafer and a surface characterization tool which is operative to move over a plurality of positions relative to the top surface of the carrier and/or the wafer transverse to the axis of rotation. The surface characterization tool is operative to move over a plurality of positions relative to the top surface of the carrier and/or the wafer transverse to the axis of rotation and is further adapted to produce characterization signals over the plurality of positions on at least a portion of the carrier and/or on at least a portion of said major surface of the wafer as the carrier rotates.