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:
Jan. 15, 2008
Filed:
Sep. 14, 2004
Srivatsa Kundalgurki, Dresden, DE;
Srivatsa Kundalgurki, Dresden, DE;
Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, DE;
Abstract
Method and apparatus for characterizing a recess located on a surface of a substrate are provided. One embodiment of the invention provides a method for characterizing a recess located on a surface of a substrate. In a first step, a measurement tip is positioned directly above the recess. Subsequently, an electrically conductive path is provided between the measurement tip and the bottom of the recess by ionizing a medium located in the recess. A voltage is applied between the measurement tip and the substrate to measure a current flowing between the measurement tip and the bottom of the recess. The recess is characterized on the basis of the magnitude of the measured current. Another embodiment of the invention provides an apparatus for performing the method for characterizing a recess.