APPARATUS FOR AND A METHOD OF DETERMINING SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS
First Claim
1. Apparatus for determining information relating to a surface characteristic of a sample in the form of a thin film structure comprising one or more thin film layers on a substrate, the apparatus comprising:
- a light source;
a light director operable to direct light from the light source along a sample path towards a surface region of a said sample and along a reference path towards a reference surface such that light reflected by a sample surface region and light reflected by the reference surface interfere;
a mover operable to effect relative movement along a measurement path between a sample and the reference surface;
a sensing device operable to sense light representing the interference fringes produced by a sample surface region;
a controller operable to carry out a measurement operation by causing the sensing device to sense light intensity at a number of locations along the measurement path to provide, for each location, a corresponding intensity value; and
a data processor operable to receive first intensity data comprising a first series of intensity values resulting from a measurement operation on a surface area of a substrate and second intensity data comprising at least a second series of intensity values resulting from a measurement operation on a surface area of a thin film structure, the data processor comprising;
a gain determiner operable to determine a gain for the or each thin film of a thin film structure; and
a surface characteristic determiner operable to determine a substrate surface characteristic on the basis of the first intensity data, to determine an apparent thin film structure surface characteristic on the basis of the second intensity data, and to modify the apparent thin film structure surface characteristic using the substrate surface characteristic and the gain or gains determined by the gain determiner.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Light from a light source (4) is directed along a sample path (SP) towards a region of a sample surface (7) and along a reference path (RP) towards a reference surface (6) such that light reflected by the region of the sample surface and light reflected by the reference surface interfere. A mover (11) effects relative movement along a scan path between the sample surface (7) and the reference surface (6). A detector (10) senses light intensity at intervals to provide a series of intensity values representing interference fringes produced by a region of a sample surface. A data processor (32) receives first intensity data comprising a first series of intensity values resulting from a measurement operation on a surface area of a substrate and second intensity data comprising at least a second series of intensity values resulting from a measurement operation on a surface area of a thin film structure. The data processor (32) has a gain determiner (100) that determines a gain for the or each thin film of a thin film structure and a surface characteristic determiner (101) that determines a substrate surface characteristic on the basis of the first intensity data, that determines an apparent thin film structure surface characteristic on the basis of the second intensity data, and that modifies the apparent thin film structure surface characteristic using the substrate surface characteristic and the gain or gains determined by the gain determiner.
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Citations
60 Claims
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1. Apparatus for determining information relating to a surface characteristic of a sample in the form of a thin film structure comprising one or more thin film layers on a substrate, the apparatus comprising:
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a light source; a light director operable to direct light from the light source along a sample path towards a surface region of a said sample and along a reference path towards a reference surface such that light reflected by a sample surface region and light reflected by the reference surface interfere; a mover operable to effect relative movement along a measurement path between a sample and the reference surface;
a sensing device operable to sense light representing the interference fringes produced by a sample surface region;a controller operable to carry out a measurement operation by causing the sensing device to sense light intensity at a number of locations along the measurement path to provide, for each location, a corresponding intensity value; and a data processor operable to receive first intensity data comprising a first series of intensity values resulting from a measurement operation on a surface area of a substrate and second intensity data comprising at least a second series of intensity values resulting from a measurement operation on a surface area of a thin film structure, the data processor comprising; a gain determiner operable to determine a gain for the or each thin film of a thin film structure; and a surface characteristic determiner operable to determine a substrate surface characteristic on the basis of the first intensity data, to determine an apparent thin film structure surface characteristic on the basis of the second intensity data, and to modify the apparent thin film structure surface characteristic using the substrate surface characteristic and the gain or gains determined by the gain determiner. - 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)
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28. A method of determining information relating to a surface characteristic of sample in the form of a thin film structure comprising one or more thin film layers on a substrate, the method comprising:
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directing light from a light source along a sample path towards a surface region of a sample and along a reference path towards a reference surface such that light reflected by the sample surface region and light reflected by the reference surface interfere; effecting relative movement along a measurement path between a sample and the reference surface; carrying out a measurement operation by causing a sensing device to sense light at a number of locations along the measurement path to provide, for each location, a corresponding intensity value; and processing intensity data comprising a first series of intensity values resulting from a measurement operation on a surface area of a substrate and second intensity data comprising at least a second series of intensity values resulting from a measurement operation on a surface area of a thin film structure by determining an apparent substrate surface characteristic of the substrate on the basis of the first intensity data, determining an apparent thin film structure surface characteristic on the basis of the second intensity data, and modifying the apparent thin film structure surface characteristic using the apparent substrate surface characteristic and a determined gain or gains. - View Dependent Claims (60)
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29-55. -55. (canceled)
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56. Apparatus for determining information relating to a surface characteristic of sample in the form of a thin film structure comprising one or more thin firm layers on a substrate, the apparatus comprising:
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light directing means for directing light from light source means along a sample path towards a surface region of a sample and along a reference path towards a reference surface such that light reflected by a said sample surface region and light reflected by the reference surface interfere; moving means for effecting relative movement along a measurement path between a sample and the reference surface; sensing means for sensing light representing the interference fringes produced by a sample surface region; control means for carrying out a measurement operation by causing the sensing means to sense light intensity at a number of locations along the measurement path to provide, for each location, a corresponding intensity value; and data processing means for receiving first intensity data comprising a first series of intensity values resulting from a measurement operation on a surface area of a substrate and second intensity data comprising at least a second series of intensity values resulting from a measurement operation on a surface area of a thin film structure, the data processing means comprising; gain determining means for determining a gain for the or each thin film of a thin film structure; and surface characteristic means for determining a substrate surface characteristic on the basis of the first intensity data, for determining an apparent thin film structure surface characteristic on the basis of the second intensity data, and for modifying the apparent thin film structure surface characteristic using the substrate surface characteristic and the gain or gains determined by the gain determining means.
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57. Data processing apparatus for receiving from an interferometer first intensity data comprising a first series of intensity values resulting from a measurement operation on a surface area of a substrate and second intensity data comprising at least a second series of intensity values resulting from a measurement operation on a surface area of a thin film structure, the apparatus comprising:
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a gain determiner operable to determine a gain for the or each thin film of a thin film structure; and a surface characteristic determiner operable to determine a substrate surface characteristic on the basis of the first intensity data, to determine an apparent thin film structure surface characteristic on the basis of the second intensity data, and to modify the apparent thin film structure surface characteristic using the substrate surface characteristic and the gain or gains determined by the gain determiner.
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58. (canceled)
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59. (canceled)
Specification