A height detection apparatus successively changes the brightness of white light from a first level to a second level in accordance with a position of a Z stage and captures an image of interference light while moving a two-beam interference objective lens relative to a paste film in an optical axis direction, detects, as a focus position, a position of the Z stage where the intensity of interference light is highest in a period during which the brightness of white light is set to the first or second level, for each pixel of the captured image, and obtains the height of the paste film based on a detection result.

A system for in-situ measurement of a curvature of a surface of a wafer comprises: a multiwavelength light source module, adapted to emit incident light comprising a plurality of wavelengths; an optical setup configured to combine the incident light into a single beam and to guide the single beam towards a surface of a wafer such that the single beam hits the surface at a single measuring spot on the surface; and a curvature determining unit, configured to determine a curvature of the surface of the wafer from reflected light corresponding to the single beam being reflected on the surface at the single measuring spot.

The present invention provides a measurement method including while driving a measurement target region of a surface of a substrate in a first direction with respect to a measurement unit, obtaining first measurement information indicating a height of the measurement target region in each of a plurality of first measurement lines parallel to the first direction and different from each other by measuring each measurement line by the measurement unit, and while driving the measurement target region with respect to the measurement unit in a second direction crossing all of the plurality of first measurement lines, obtaining second measurement information indicating a height of the measurement target region in one second measurement line parallel to the second direction by measuring the second measurement line by the measurement unit.

We describe apparatus for measurement of thickness and topography of slabs of materials employing probes with filters using polarization maintaining fibers.

The present subject matter at least provides an apparatus for characterization of a slab of a material. The apparatus comprises two or more frequency-domain optical-coherence tomography (FD-OCT) probes configured for irradiating the slab of material, and detecting radiation reflected from the slab of material or transmitted there-through. Further, a centralized actuation-mechanism is connected to the OCT probes for simultaneously actuating elements in each of the OCT probes to cause a synchronized detection of the radiation from the slab of material. A spectral-analysis module is provided for analyzing at least an interference pattern with respect to each of the OCT probes to thereby determine at least one of thickness and topography of the slab of the material. Further, in some embodiments, the slab of material may include a passivation layer. The apparatus may be configured to determine a thickness of the passivation layer.

A method of using removable opaque coating for accurate optical topography measurements on top surfaces of transparent films includes: depositing a highly reflective coating onto a top surface of a wafer, measuring topography on the highly reflective coating, and removing the highly reflective coating from the wafer. The highly reflective coating includes an organic material. The highly reflective coating comprises a refractive index value between one and two. The highly reflective coating comprises a complex wavelength greater than one at six-hundred and thirty-five nanometers. The highly reflective coating reflects at least twenty percent of incident light. The highly reflective coating when deposited maintains an underlayer pattern topography at a resolution of forty by forty micrometers. The highly reflective coating does not cause destructive stress to the wafer.

An inspection system is disclosed. In one embodiment, the inspection system includes an interferometer sub-system configured to acquire an interferogram of a sample. The inspection system may further include a controller communicatively coupled to the interferometer sub-system. The controller is configured to: receive the interferogram from the interferometer sub-system; generate a phase map of the sample based on the received interferogram, wherein the phase map includes a plurality of pixels; select a sub-set of pixels of the plurality of pixels of the phase map to be used for phase unwrapping procedures; perform one or more phase unwrapping procedures on the sub-set of pixels of the phase map to generate an unwrapped phase map; and generate a surface height map of the sample based on the unwrapped phase map.

A semiconductor equipment architecture WGT for wafer shape and flatness measurement is disclosed. The semiconductor equipment architecture WGT includes a reflective air-bearing chuck and a hybrid wafer thickness gauge. Also disclosed are the corresponding methods of measuring wafer shape and flatness using the architecture, the air-bearing chuck and the hybrid wafer thickness gauge.

A semiconductor equipment architecture WGT for wafer shape and flatness measurement is disclosed. The semiconductor equipment architecture WGT includes a reflective air-bearing chuck and a hybrid wafer thickness gauge. Also disclosed are the corresponding methods of measuring wafer shape and flatness using the architecture, the air-bearing chuck and the hybrid wafer thickness gauge.

An inspection system is disclosed. In one embodiment, the inspection system includes an interferometer sub-system configured to acquire an interferogram of a sample. The inspection system may further include a controller communicatively coupled to the interferometer sub-system. The controller is configured to: receive the interferogram from the interferometer sub-system; generate a phase map of the sample based on the received interferogram, wherein the phase map includes a plurality of pixels; select a sub-set of pixels of the plurality of pixels of the phase map to be used for phase unwrapping procedures; perform one or more phase unwrapping procedures on the sub-set of pixels of the phase map to generate an unwrapped phase map; and generate a surface height map of the sample based on the unwrapped phase map.