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:
May. 01, 2007
Filed:
Jul. 07, 2004
Jon Opsal, Livermore, CA (US);
Lena Nicolaides, Castro Valley, CA (US);
Alex Salnik, Castro Valley, CA (US);
Jon Opsal, Livermore, CA (US);
Lena Nicolaides, Castro Valley, CA (US);
Alex Salnik, Castro Valley, CA (US);
Therma-Wave, Inc., Fremont, CA (US);
Abstract
A system for evaluating semiconductor wafers includes illumination sources for generating probe and pump beams. The pump beam is focused on the surface of a sample and a beam steering mechanism is used to modulate the point of focus in a predetermined pattern. The moving pump beam introduces thermal and plasma waves in the sample causing changes in the reflectivity of the surface of the sample. The probe beam is focused within or adjacent to the area illuminated by the pump beam. The reflected probe beam is gathered and used to measure the changes in reflectivity induced by the pump beam. By analyzing changes in reflectivity, a processor is able to deduce structure and chemical details of the sample.