This disclosure relates to an apparatus and methods for applying X-ray reflectometry (XRR) in characterizing three dimensional nanostructures supported on a flat substrate with a miniscule sampling area and a thickness in nanometers. In particular, this disclosure is targeted for addressing the difficulties encountered when XRR is applied to samples with intricate nanostructures along all three directions, e.g. arrays of nanostructured poles or shafts. Convergent X-ray with long wavelength, greater than that from a copper anode of 0.154 nm and less than twice of the characteristic dimensions along the film thickness direction, is preferably used with appropriate collimations on both incident and detection arms to enable the XRR for measurements of samples with limited sample area and scattering volumes. In one embodiment, the incident angle of the long-wavelength focused X-ray is ≥24°, and the sample area is ≤25 μm×25 μm.

This disclosure relates to an apparatus and methods for applying X-ray reflectometry (XRR) in characterizing three dimensional nanostructures supported on a flat substrate with a miniscule sampling area and a thickness in nanometers. In particular, this disclosure is targeted for addressing the difficulties encountered when XRR is applied to samples with intricate nanostructures along all three directions, e.g. arrays of nanostructured poles or shafts. Convergent X-ray with long wavelength, greater than that from a copper anode of 0.154 nm and less than twice of the characteristic dimensions along the film thickness direction, is preferably used with appropriate collimations on both incident and detection arms to enable the XRR for measurements of samples with limited sample area and scattering volumes. In one embodiment, the incident angle of the long-wavelength focused X-ray is ≥24°, and the sample area is ≤25 μm×25 μm.

A system for detecting plugging of ground-engaging tools of agricultural implements includes an aft sensor(s) configured to capture data indicative of a post-worked residue coverage of a portion of a field aft of a ground-engaging tool(s). The system includes a controller configured to monitor the data received from the aft sensor(s) and determine the post-worked residue coverage for the portion of the field. The controller is configured to identify when the ground-engaging tool(s) is experiencing a plugged condition based at least in part on the determined post-worked residue coverage for the field.

A system for detecting plugging of ground-engaging tools of agricultural implements includes an aft sensor(s) configured to capture data indicative of a post-worked residue coverage of a portion of a field aft of a ground-engaging tool(s). The system includes a controller configured to monitor the data received from the aft sensor(s) and determine the post-worked residue coverage for the portion of the field. The controller is configured to identify when the ground-engaging tool(s) is experiencing a plugged condition based at least in part on the determined post-worked residue coverage for the field.

A method includes generating, by a SEM, sets of frames corresponding to regions of a microfabrication pattern, for each set of frames, estimating feature data representing edge positions, linewidths, or centerline positions of one or more features of each region of the pattern, and computing a preliminary estimate of a roughness parameter from the feature data. The roughness parameter is indicative of a line edge roughness, a linewidth roughness, or a pattern placement roughness of the one or more features. The method further includes fitting a model equation to the preliminary estimates of the roughness parameter using a model parameter dependent on the number of frames of each set of frames, the model equation relating the model parameter to the roughness parameter; and computing a final estimate of the roughness parameter as an asymptotic value of the fitted model equation.

A method can comprise: scanning a tip of an airfoil of a bladed rotor, the tip including a coating disposed thereon, the coating comprising a metal plating and a plurality of protrusions, each protrusion in the plurality of protrusions extending from the metal plating; comparing a coating parameter of the coating to a coating parameter threshold based on scanner data from the scanning; and determining whether the coating maintains sufficient coverage of the tip of the airfoil based on the comparing.

A method can comprise: scanning a tip of an airfoil of a bladed rotor, the tip including a coating disposed thereon, the coating comprising a metal plating and a plurality of protrusions, each protrusion in the plurality of protrusions extending from the metal plating; comparing a coating parameter of the coating to a coating parameter threshold based on scanner data from the scanning; and determining whether the coating maintains sufficient coverage of the tip of the airfoil based on the comparing.

Line-edge roughness or line width roughness is evaluated while preventing influence of noise caused by a device or an environment. Therefore, an averaged signal profile 405 in which a moving average of S pixels (S is an integer greater than 1) is taken in a Y direction is obtained from a signal profile showing a secondary electron signal amount distribution in an X direction with respect to a predetermined Y coordinate obtained from a top-down image, an edge position 406 of a line pattern is extracted based on the averaged signal profile, and a noise floor height is calculated based on a first power spectral density 407 of LER data or LWR data based on the extracted edge position and a second power spectral density 409 of a rectangular window function corresponding to the moving average of the S pixels.

Line-edge roughness or line width roughness is evaluated while preventing influence of noise caused by a device or an environment. Therefore, an averaged signal profile 405 in which a moving average of S pixels (S is an integer greater than 1) is taken in a Y direction is obtained from a signal profile showing a secondary electron signal amount distribution in an X direction with respect to a predetermined Y coordinate obtained from a top-down image, an edge position 406 of a line pattern is extracted based on the averaged signal profile, and a noise floor height is calculated based on a first power spectral density 407 of LER data or LWR data based on the extracted edge position and a second power spectral density 409 of a rectangular window function corresponding to the moving average of the S pixels.

A purpose of the present invention is to provide a pattern measurement device that allows the selection of device conditions for calculating proper variability and allows the estimation of proper variability. The present invention provides a pattern measurement device comprising a computation processing device that, on the basis of a plurality of measured values acquired by a charged particle radiation device, calculates the variability of the measured values of a pattern that is the object of measurement, said pattern measurement device characterized in that a variability σ.sub.measured of the plurality of measured values formed at different positions and σ.sup.2.sub.observed=σ.sup.2.sub.pattern/Np+σ.sup.2.sub.sem0/(Np.Math.Nframe) are used to calculate σ.sub.SEM0, which indicates measurement reproducibility error. σ.sub.pattern0 is the variability due to pattern shape error, Np is the number of measurement points, and Nframe is a value that changes according to device conditions.