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:
Apr. 11, 2006
Filed:
Dec. 30, 2003
William H. Howland, Jr., Wexford, PA (US);
Christine E. Kalnas, Pittsburgh, PA (US);
William H. Howland, Jr., Wexford, PA (US);
Christine E. Kalnas, Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Solid State Measurements, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Abstract
In an apparatus and method for determining a permittivity of a dielectric layer on a semiconductor wafer, a thickness of the dielectric layer is determined and a topside of the wafer is moved into contact with a spherical portion of an at least partially spherical and electrically conductive surface. An electrical stimulus is applied between the electrically conductive surface and the semiconducting material. A capacitance of a capacitor comprised of the electrically conductive surface, the semiconductor material and the dielectric layer is determined from the applied stimulus. A permittivity of the dielectric layer is then determined as a function of the capacitance and the thickness of the dielectric layer.