Industry-University Cooperation Foundation Sogang University

Kyuman Cho

Jae Hyun Kim

Seung-Yop Lee

Kang-Hyuk Kwon

Kyoung Up Kim

Young Kyu Park

The present invention relates to a scanning microscope using a heterodyne interferometer, which can be used for mapping or imaging complex optical parameters such as physical structures and material properties of a sample under test. The heterodyne interferometer is designed to provide in- and quadrature-phase interference signal which can be used for extracting the phase and amplitude change induced on the probe beam. The phase and the amplitude of the probe beam, which is reflected from or transmitted through the sample, are modified by the physical structures and material properties of the sample. Therefore, by scanning the probe beam, local variations of the phase and amplitude can be mapped, and, thereby, three-dimensional microscopic physical structures and material properties can be imaged by processing the phase and amplitude values.

Scanning microscope using heterodyne interferometer

Disclosed herein is an apparatus and method which is capable of accurately measuring surface status, such as a minute variation in height (the height difference), a protrusion, a depression, surface damage and/or surface roughness, at each point on the surface of the object to be measured in an optical manner. In particular, the present invention provides an optical surface measuring apparatus and method which is capable of accurately measuring the minute surface status of the object to be measured using both a signal from an interferometer and a Focus Error (FE) signal from a Position Sensitive Detector (PSD) in order to overcome the 2&#x3c0;-ambiguity of the conventional interferometers and the limitation of the Focus Error (FE) signal.

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Seoul, South Korea

Kyuman Cho