Method and apparatus for characterization of porous films

A program storage device readable by a machine and encoding a program of instructions for executing a method comprising the steps of:

• loading data, said data obtained by performing at least one ellipsometric measurement on a film formed on a substrate, said substrate being located in a pressurizable chamber filled with a gaseous substance at a pressure less than an equilibrium vapor pressure of said gaseous substance, said data relating to the film thickness as a function of said pressure;
• computing Young's modulus of said film from said data;
• and
• outputting said computed Young's modulus of said film.

A method for determining pore size distribution of a film formed on a substrate using a gaseous substance, said substrate being within a pressurizable chamber at a chamber temperature, said method comprising the steps of:

• setting said chamber to a modified pressure, the modified pressure being less than equilibrium vapor pressure of said gaseous substance at the chamber temperature;
• admitting a gaseous substance in said chamber;
• performing at least one ellipsometric measurement to determine optical characteristics at said modified pressure and at said chamber temperature;
• and
• calculating said pore size distribution of said film.

A program storage device readable by a machine and encoding a program of instructions for executing a method comprising the steps of:

• loading data, said data obtained by performing at least one ellipsometric measurement on a film, formed on a substrate, said substrate being located in a pressurizable chamber filled with a gaseous substance at a pressure being less than an equilibrium vapor pressure of said gaseous substance, said data relating to the film thickness and refractive index;
• determining whether pore-killers are present in said film based on said data;
• and
• displaying a result of said determining step.

A method for determining the amount of pores of at least two different sizes of a film formed on a substrate using a gaseous substance, said substrate being within a pressurizable chamber at a chamber temperature, said method comprising the steps of:

• setting said chamber to a modified pressure, the modified pressure being less than equilibrium vapor pressure of said gaseous substance at the chamber temperature;
• admitting a gaseous substance in said chamber;
• performing at least one ellipsometric measurement to determine optical characteristics at said modified pressure and at said chamber temperature;
• and
• calculating said amount of pores of at least two different sizes of said film.