Implementations disclosed describe an optical inspection device comprising a source of light to direct a light beam to a location on a surface of a wafer, the wafer being transported from a processing chamber, wherein the light beam is to generate, a reflected light, an optical sensor to collect a first data representative of a direction of the first reflected light, collect a second data representative of a plurality of values characterizing intensity of the reflected light at a corresponding one of a plurality of wavelengths, and a processing device, in communication with the optical sensor, to determine, using the first data, a position of the surface of the wafer; retrieve calibration data, and determine, using the position of the surface of the wafer, the second data, and the calibration data, a characteristic representative of a quality of the wafer.

An ellipsometer includes a light source, a polarizer, an asymmetric wavelength retarder, an analyzer and an optical detection component. The light source is configured to provide a light beam having multiple wavelengths incident to a sample. The polarizer is disposed between the light source and the sample, and configured to polarize the light beam. The asymmetric wavelength retarder is configured to provide a varied retardation effect on the light beam varied by wavelength. The analyzer is configured to analyze a polarization state of the light beam reflected by the sample. The optical detection component is configured to detect the light beam from the analyzer.

Embodiments of the invention provide a method of determining one or more characteristics of a target object, comprising recording one or more diffraction patterns at a detector, wherein each diffraction pattern is formed by a target object scattering incident radiation, determining a phase map for at least a region of the target object based on the one or more diffraction patterns, and determining a refractive property of the target object based on the phase map.

A thickness estimation method may include: obtaining a test spectrum image; obtaining test spectrum data; measuring a thickness of a test layer formed on the test substrate at the plurality of positions; generating a regression analysis model using a correlation between the thickness of the test layer and the test spectrum data; obtaining a spectrum image; and estimating a thickness of a target layer over the entire area of the semiconductor substrate by applying the spectrum image to the regression analysis model. The thickness corresponding to the entire area of the semiconductor substrate that is being transferred is estimated using the thickness estimation method according to an exemplary embodiment in the present disclosure, such that whether or not processing is normally performed may be examined without requiring a separate time. In addition, an examination result may be feedbacked to processing equipment to improve production yield.

In an embodiment, a method for evaluating a surface of a semiconductor substrate includes directing an incident light beam having multiple wavelengths at a position of a layer having a surface profile configured to form an optical diffraction grating, the layer including a Group III nitride, detecting a reflected beam, reflected from the position, and obtaining a spectrum of reflected intensity as a function of wavelength, the spectrum being representative of the surface profile of the position of the layer from which the beam is reflected, comparing the spectrum obtained from the detected beam with one or more reference spectra stored in memory, and estimating at least one parameter of the surface profile.

Systems and methods are provided for determining a thickness of a material or an article of manufacture thereof such as a wall thickness of a plastic container or plastic bottle during manufacturing. In some embodiments, for example, a measurement system can include a light source disposed adjacent to a production line for plastic bottles. The light source can be configured to transmit light of a known frequency through the plastic bottles. A camera can be disposed opposite the light source. The camera can be configured to receive the light transmitted through the plastic bottles. An optional trigger, when present, can be configured to coordinate timing of the camera and the light source. A computer can be configured to determine wall thicknesses for the plastic bottles by an experimentally determined correlation between the light received by the camera and a known absorbance spectrum of the material forming the plastic bottles.

The invention relates to a method for measuring thickness variations in a layer of a multilayer semiconductor structure, characterized in that it comprises: acquiring, via an image acquisition system, at least one image of the surface of the structure, the image being obtained by reflecting an almost monochromatic light flux from the surface of the structure; and processing the at least one acquired image in order to determine, from variations in the intensity of the light reflected from the surface, variations in the thickness of the layer to be measured, and in that the wavelength of the almost monochromatic light flux is chosen to correspond to a minimum of the sensitivity of the reflectivity of a layer of the structure other than the layer the thickness variations of which must be measured, the sensitivity of the reflectivity of a layer being equal to the ratio of: the difference between the reflectivities of two multilayer structures for which the layer in question has a given thickness difference; to the given thickness difference, the thicknesses of the other layers being for their part identical in the two multilayer structures. The invention also relates to a measuring system implementing the method.

A multi-shield plate includes a plate having a substantially flat upper surface and a substantially flat lower surface, a plurality of first windows formed in the plate and extending through the plate from the upper surface to the lower surface, and a plurality of vapor shields mounted to the plate, each vapor shield of the plurality of vapor shields configured to prevent passage of a vapor through a corresponding window of the plurality of windows. The multi-shield plate includes an aperture formed in the plate, the aperture aligned with a first window of the plurality of windows along an axis corresponding to the upper surface.

An electrochemical deposition system includes: an electrochemical deposition chamber including an electrolyte for electrochemical deposition; a substrate holder configured to hold a substrate and including a first cathode that is electrically connected to the substrate; a first actuator configured to adjust a vertical position of the substrate holder within the electrochemical deposition chamber; an anode submerged in the electrolyte; a second cathode arranged between the first cathode and the anode; a first optical probe configured to measure a first reflectivity of the substrate at a first distance from a center of the substrate while the substrate is submerged within the electrolyte during the electrochemical deposition; and a controller configured to, based on the first reflectivity, selectively adjust at least one of power applied to the first cathode, power applied to the second cathode, power applied to the anode, and the vertical position of the substrate holder.

Systems and methods measure a thickness of a plastic article in two phases. In an initialization phase, a photosensor separately and sequentially measures incident light energy from a light source for each a plurality of spectral sub-regions within a total measurement range without the plastic article to be measured being present. A processor computes a baseline incident signal level for the initialization phase by summing the incident light energy for each of the plurality of spectral sub-regions within the total measurement range. In a measurement phase, the photosensor detects light energy that is incident on the photosensor after being transmitted by the light source through the plastic article. The processor computes the thickness of the plastic article based on at least (i) light energy detected by the photosensor and (ii) the computed baseline incident signal level.