US 2004/0170249 A1 · Method and apparatus for thin film thickness mapping

Abstract

An apparatus and method for mapping film thickness of textured polycrystalline thin films. Multiple sample films of known thicknesses are provided, and each is irradiated by x-ray at a measurement point to generate a diffraction image that captures a plurality of diffraction arcs. Texture information (i.e., pole densities) of each sample film is calculated based on multiple incomplete pole figures collected from the diffraction image and used to correct the x-ray diffraction intensities obtained from such sample film. Corrected and integrated diffraction intensities of the sample films are then correlated to respective known film thicknesses of such films, and the correlation so determined can be used to map the film thickness of a textured polycrystalline thin film of unknown thickness, based on the corrected and integrated diffraction intensity calculated for such thin film.

Claims34

Dependent claims

A method for determining film thickness of a textured polycrystalline thin film of unknown thickness, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a plurality of sample films of known film thickness;
(b) obtaining a corrected and integrated diffraction intensity of a particular set of diffraction planes for each sample film, by calculating complete pole densities of said particular set of diffracting planes based on multiple incomplete pole figures collected from a diffraction image of each sample film, correcting values of diffraction intensities obtained for the particular set of diffraction planes from the diffraction image by using the complete pole densities so calculated, and integrating the corrected values of diffraction intensities;
(c) correlating the corrected and integrated diffraction intensities obtained in step (b) with the known film thicknesses of respective sample films;
and
(d) mapping the film thickness of the textured polycrystalline thin film, based on a corrected and integrated diffraction intensity calculated for said textured polycrystalline thin film, and the correlation between the corrected and integrated diffraction intensities and the film thicknesses as determined in step (c).

2 more elements

A thickness mapping system for determining film thickness of a textured polycrystalline thin film, comprising:

a textured polycrystalline thin film deposited on a generally planar substrate, defining an associated sample plane;
a radiation source for directing radiation energy to a measurement point on the sample plane;
a 2-dimensional area detector that registers radiation energy diffracted from the textured polycrystalline thin film at the measurement point, with the radiation source and the 2-dimensional area detector being in a fixed spatial relationship to one another and sufficiently proximate to the measurement point to capture a plurality of diffraction arcs within a single data capture frame of the area detector, so as to generate a diffraction image containing multiple incomplete pole figures;
a sample motion assembly for translating the substrate in the sample plane;
and
a computer-based film thickness processor, construed and arranged to collect and process diffraction data for determining film thickness of the textured polycrystalline thin film, wherein said computer-based thickness processor comprises computational means for:
(a) calculating complete pole densities for a particular set of diffracting planes of said textured polycrystalline thin film, based on multiple incomplete pole figures collected from said diffraction image generated by the 2-dimensional area detector;
(b) correcting values of diffraction intensities obtained for the particular set of diffraction planes from the diffraction image, by using the complete pole densities so calculated;
(c) integrating the corrected values of diffraction intensities to provide a corrected and integrated diffraction intensity for said particular set of diffraction planes;
(d) mapping the thickness of said textured polycrystalline thin film, based on said corrected and integrated diffraction intensity and a correlation data set stored in memory of said computer-based film thickness processor, wherein said correlation data set correlates corrected and integrated diffraction intensities of multiple sample polycrystalline thin films of known thicknesses with their respective thicknesses.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method and apparatus for thin film thickness mapping

Life of this patent

Method and apparatus for thin film thickness mapping

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims34