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:
Sep. 07, 2004
Filed:
Dec. 11, 2002
Applicant:
Inventors:
Gary Janik, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Roger Kroeze, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Murali Narsimhan, San Jose, CA (US);
Assignee:
KLA-Tencor Technologies Corporation, Milpitas, CA (US);
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01N 2/3223 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
G01N 2/3223 ;
Abstract
Methods and apparatus are providing for characterizing thin films in an integrated circuit device. A target including multiple layers is scanned using an x-ray emission inducer. X-ray emissions characteristic of materials in the target are measured. In one example, multiple beam energies are used to conduct the scan. In another example, continuously varying beam energies are used. Information such as K-ratios or the intensity of the x-ray emissions is provided to determine the thickness and/or composition of layers in the scan target.