US 12,196,681 B1Granted

Method and a device for detecting crystalline defects in a substrate by dark field and photoluminescence

AssigneeUnity Semiconductor Corporation

InventorHadrien Vergnet

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Abstract

A device for detecting monocrystalline substrate defects, wherein a normal to the surface of the substrate is tilted by a tilt angle being contained in an angle plane, perpendicular to the surface, the device includes a detector, an illumination light source having a light beam, and arranged in a first position and/or a second position, an excitation light source illuminating the substrate and producing an emission of photoluminescence light by the substrate, imaging means imaging the substrate according to a detector field of view producing at least one image of the substrate, and processing means detecting crystalline defects using the substrate image, each illumination light source and the imaging means are arranged in a dark-field configuration, and in the first position, the illuminating light beam is parallel or quasi-parallel to the angle plane, and in the second position, the illuminating light beam is parallel or quasi-parallel to a perpendicular plane.

Claims16

Dependent claims

A device for detecting crystalline defects in an off-axis monocrystalline substrate, wherein a normal to the surface of the substrate is tilted with respect to the crystallographic growth axis by a tilt angle, the tilt angle being contained in a plane, called angle plane, perpendicular to the surface, the device comprising:

at least one detector;
at least one illumination light source configured to illuminate the substrate with an illuminating light beam, the at least one illumination light source being arranged in at least one of a first position and a second position;
at least one excitation light source configured to illuminate the substrate with an excitation light beam configured to produce an emission of photoluminescence light by the substrate;
imaging means configured to image the substrate according to a field of view on the at least one detector, said at least one detector producing at least one image of the substrate;
and
processing means configured to detect crystalline defects using said at least one image of the substrate,
wherein the at least one illumination light source and the imaging means are arranged in a dark-field configuration;
and
wherein in the first position, the at least one illumination light source is arranged such that the illuminating light beam is parallel or quasi-parallel to the angle plane, and in the second position, the at least one illumination light source is arranged such that the illuminating light beam is parallel or quasi-parallel to a plane, called perpendicular plane, containing the normal to the surface and being perpendicular to the angle plane.

6 more elements

A method for detecting crystalline defects in an off-axis monocrystalline substrate, wherein a normal to the surface of the substrate is tilted with respect to the crystallographic growth axis by a tilt angle, the tilt angle being contained in a plane, called angle plane, perpendicular to the surface of the substrate, the method being implemented with a device comprising at least one detector, at least one illumination light source, at least one excitation light source, imaging means, and processing means, the at least one illumination light source and the imaging means being arranged in a dark-field configuration, the method comprising:

illuminating, with the at least one illumination light source, the substrate with an illuminating light beam, the at least one illumination light source being arranged in at least one of a first position and a second position;
illuminating, with the at least one excitation light source, the substrate with an excitation light beam configured to produce an emission of photoluminescence light by the substrate,
imaging, with the imaging means, the substrate according to a field of view on the at least one detector;
producing with said at least one detector at least one image of the substrate;
and
detecting, with the processing means, crystalline defects using said at least one image of the substrate;
wherein in the first position, the at least one illumination light source is arranged such that the illuminating light beam is parallel or quasi-parallel to the angle plane, and in the second position, the at least one illumination light source is arranged such that the illuminating light beam is parallel or quasi-parallel to a plane, called perpendicular plane, containing the normal to the surface and being perpendicular to the angle plane.

4 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.