Apparatus and method for non-contact assessment of a constituent in semiconductor substrates

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for assessing a constituent in a semiconductor substrate. Several embodiments of the invention are directed toward non-contact methods and systems for identifying an atom specie of a dopant implanted into the semiconductor substrate using techniques that do not mechanically contact the substrate with electrical leads or other types of mechanical measuring instruments. For example, one embodiment of a non-contact method of assessing a constituent in a semiconductor substrate in accordance with the invention comprises obtaining an actual reflectance spectrum of infrared radiation reflected from the semiconductor substrate, and ascertaining a plasma frequency value (ωp) and a collision frequency value (γ) for the semiconductor substrate based on the actual reflectance spectrum. This method can further include identifying a dopant type based on a relationship between dopant types and (a) plasma frequency values and (b) collision frequency values.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.