Hypernex, Inc.

International Business Machines Corporation

Krzysztof J Kozaczek

David S Kurtz

Paul R Moran

Roger Isaac Martin

Kenneth Parker Rodbell

Sandra Guy Malhotra

Patrick W Dehaven

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.

Method and apparatus for thin film thickness mapping

An apparatus and method for mapping film thickness of one or more textured polycrystalline thin films. Multiple sample films of known thickness are provided. Each sample film 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 the sample film, is calculated based on incomplete pole figures collected on the diffraction image and used to correct the x-ray diffraction intensities from such sample. The corrected diffraction intensities are integrated for each sample film, and then used for constructing a calibration curve that correlates diffraction intensities with respective known film thickness of the sample films. The film thickness of a textured polycrystalline thin film of unknown thickness can therefore be mapped on such calibration curve, using a corrected and integrated diffraction intensity obtained for such thin film of unknown thickness.

A method for quantitatively determining the phase composition of a sample mixture that comprises two or more textured polycrystalline materials, based on corrected and integrated x-ray diffraction intensities. The effect of texture has been analytically eliminated from such corrected and integrated x-ray diffraction intensities, based on the texture information obtained from the sample mixture.

Method and apparatus for quantitative phase analysis of textured polycrystalline materials

An apparatus and method for performing rapid, high-resolution polycrystalline crystallographic texture analysis, by calculating an Orientation Distribution Function (ODF) from partial pole figures obtained from x-ray diffraction measurements on large samples, e.g., 200 millimeter diameter wafers. The measurement apparatus includes a 2-D area x-ray detector and a collimated x-ray source arranged in a specific, fixed spatial relationship dependant on the properties of the sample to be measured, and also includes a particular wafer motion assembly. The wafer motion assembly includes three mutually orthogonal rectilinear translation stages, and a &phgr; rotation stage mounted thereon, as an uppermost motion stage, with its range restricted to 180&deg; of rotation. &thgr;-2&thgr; and &khgr; motions are eliminated, and the close deployment of the x-ray source and area detector to the measuring spot on the wafer is such that the detector covers a sufficient range of 2&thgr; and &khgr; to capture multiple diffraction arcs in each frame. The invention employs a new and advantageous texture analysis protocol to determine ODF from the severely truncated pole figures thus obtained, through comparison of experimental ODF figures with calculated ones. The resulting system is fast, accurate, amenable to automation, and does not require highly skilled personnel to operate.

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State College, PA, United States of America

Krzysztof J Kozaczek