The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 23, 2021
Filed:
Jul. 30, 2019
Lam Research Corporation, Fremont, CA (US);
Government of the Usa, As Represented BY the Secretary of Commerce., Gaithersburg, MD (US);
William Dean Thompson, Pleasanton, CA (US);
Regis Joseph Kline, Boonsboro, MD (US);
Daniel F. Sunday, Gaithersburg, MD (US);
Wenli Wu, Rockville, MD (US);
Osman Sorkhabi, Danville, CA (US);
Jin Zhang, Fremont, CA (US);
Xiaoshu Chen, Fremont, CA (US);
Lam Research Corporation, Fremont, CA (US);
The Government of the United States of America, represented by the Secretary of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD (US);
Abstract
Provided herein are methods and apparatus for characterizing high aspect ratio (HAR) structures of fabricated or partially fabricated semiconductor devices. The methods involve using small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) to determine average parameters of an array of HAR structures. In some implementations, SAXS is used to analyze symmetry of HAR structures in a sample and may be referred to as tilted structural symmetry analysis-SAXS (TSSA-SAXS) or TSSA. Analysis of parameters such as tilt, sidewall angle, bowing, and the presence of multiple tilts in HAR structures may be performed.