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. 26, 2014

Filed:

May. 20, 2011
Applicants:

Boris V. Kamenev, Beaverton, OR (US);

Michael J. Darwin, Portland, OR (US);

Inventors:

Boris V. Kamenev, Beaverton, OR (US);

Michael J. Darwin, Portland, OR (US);

Assignee:

Nanometrics Incorporated, Milpitas, CA (US);

Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01B 3/22 (2006.01); G01B 5/20 (2006.01); G01B 7/28 (2006.01); G01B 11/24 (2006.01); G01B 13/16 (2006.01); G01B 15/04 (2006.01); G01B 17/06 (2006.01); G01B 21/20 (2006.01); G01B 9/02 (2006.01); G01B 11/06 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
G01B 11/2441 (2013.01); G01B 9/0209 (2013.01); G01B 9/02084 (2013.01); G01B 11/0675 (2013.01); G01B 2290/45 (2013.01); G01B 9/02072 (2013.01); G01B 11/06 (2013.01);
Abstract

The properties of a surface of an object in presence of thin transparent films are determined by generating a library of model signals and processing a measurement signal via searching the library to evaluate films properties and topography. The library may be reduced with principal component analysis to enhance computation speed. Computation enhancement may also be achieved by removal of the height contributions from the signal leaving only the film contribution in the signal. The film measurement signal is compared to a library of film signals to determine the film parameters of the sample. The library of film signals is produced by processing each full signal in a library to similarly remove the height contributions leaving only the film contributions. Additionally, a post-analysis process may be applied to properly evaluate local topography.


Find Patent Forward Citations

Loading…