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.

Date of Patent:
Aug. 24, 1999

Filed:

Jul. 10, 1998
Applicant:
Inventor:

Duane C Holmes, Saratoga, CA (US);

Assignee:

Nanometrics Incorporated, Sunnyvale, CA (US);

Attorneys:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01J / ; G01N / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
356 73 ; 356 51 ; 356319 ; 356328 ; 25033907 ; 25033908 ;
Abstract

A measuring instrument with a parfocal combination of an ultra-violet to near-infrared (UV-NIR) spectrophotometer and a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer is disclosed. The parfocal configuration of metrology tools obviates lateral movement of the sample between two separate measurement instruments. Consequently, the area occupied by the parfocal measuring instrument is reduced. Moreover, throughput is increased because there is no need to reposition the sample to properly align the measurement area for the separate measurements. The measuring instrument also includes an imaging apparatus, such as a camera or microscope ocular, to accurately position the measurement area of the sample. Beam directing elements, such as a mirror and objective lenses, are mounted on a common movable member. The common movable member, which may be, e.g., a linear or rotating turret, moves to properly align the desired beam directing element, thereby selecting the specific metrology mode. In addition, the measurement instrument includes a purging shroud along the FTIR spectrometer optical path to efficiently purge any atmospherical gases that may interfere with the FTIR measurement technique.


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