Systems and methods for thin film thermal diagnostics with scanning thermal microstructures
First Claim
1. A method of measuring properties of a film sample, comprising:
- scanning across the sample one or more microstructures, the one or more microstructures containing at least one thermal probe and at least one of a thermal sensor and a thermal stimulator;
applying a stimulus to the one or more microstructures wherein the stimulus includes a temporally varying waveform;
detecting a response of the one or more microstructures from an interaction of the sample and the applied stimulus;
correlating a position of the one or more microstructures with the response of the one or more microstructures.
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Abstract
Systems and methods are described for identifying characteristics and defects in material such as semiconductors. Methods include scanning a thermal probe in the vicinity of a semiconductor sample, applying stimuli to the thermal probe, and monitoring the interaction of the thermal probe and the semiconductor. The stimulus can be applied by a variety of methods, including Joule heating of a resistor in the proximity of the probe tip, or optically heating a tip of the thermal probe using a laser. Applications of the invention include identification of voids in metallic layers in semiconductors; mapping dopant concentration in semiconductors; measuring thickness of a sample material; mapping thermal hot spots and other characteristics of a sample material.
21 Citations
33 Claims
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1. A method of measuring properties of a film sample, comprising:
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scanning across the sample one or more microstructures, the one or more microstructures containing at least one thermal probe and at least one of a thermal sensor and a thermal stimulator;
applying a stimulus to the one or more microstructures wherein the stimulus includes a temporally varying waveform;
detecting a response of the one or more microstructures from an interaction of the sample and the applied stimulus;
correlating a position of the one or more microstructures with the response of the one or more microstructures. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification