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.

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.

A gallium arsenide single crystal substrate having a main surface, in which a ratio of the number of As atoms existing as diarsenic trioxide to the number of As atoms existing as diarsenic pentoxide is greater than or equal to 2 when the main surface is measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, in which an X-ray having energy of 150 eV is used and a take-off angle of a photoelectron is set to 5°. Arithmetic average roughness (Ra) of the main surface is less than or equal to 0.3 nm.

A charged particle detector includes a microchannel plate having an input surface having electrons (charged particles) input thereon, a multiplication portion performing multiplication of electrons while maintaining positional information of the electrons, and an output surface outputting electrons multiplied by the multiplication portion; a multi-dynode having a plurality of dynodes multiplying the electrons output from the output surface, and insulation regions positioned between the dynodes; and an anode disposed in a spatial region between the output surface and the multi-dynode, and having collection portions for collecting electrons multiplied by the dynodes and aperture portions for allowing electrons output from the output surface to pass therethrough to the dynodes side. All of the insulation regions overlap the collection portions when viewed in an output direction of the electrons from the output surface.

A charged particle detector includes a microchannel plate having an input surface having electrons (charged particles) input thereon, a multiplication portion performing multiplication of electrons while maintaining positional information of the electrons, and an output surface outputting electrons multiplied by the multiplication portion; a multi-dynode having a plurality of dynodes multiplying the electrons output from the output surface, and insulation regions positioned between the dynodes; and an anode disposed in a spatial region between the output surface and the multi-dynode, and having collection portions for collecting electrons multiplied by the dynodes and aperture portions for allowing electrons output from the output surface to pass therethrough to the dynodes side. All of the insulation regions overlap the collection portions when viewed in an output direction of the electrons from the output surface.

Methods and systems for measuring structural and material characteristics of semiconductor structures based on combined x-ray reflectometry (XRR) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) are presented herein. A combined XRR and XPS system includes an x-ray illumination source and x-ray illumination optics shared by both the XRR and XPS measurement subsystems. This increases throughput and measurement accuracy by simultaneously collecting XRR and XPS measurement data from the same area of the wafer. A combined XRR and XPS system improves measurement accuracy by employing XRR measurement data to improve measurements performed by the XPS subsystem, and vice-versa. In addition, a combined XRR and XPS system enables simultaneous analysis of both XRR and XPS measurement data to more accurately estimate values of one of more parameters of interest. In a further aspect, any of measurement spot size, photon flux, beam shape, beam diameter, and illumination energy are independently controlled.

Methods and systems for measuring structural and material characteristics of semiconductor structures based on combined x-ray reflectometry (XRR) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) are presented herein. A combined XRR and XPS system includes an x-ray illumination source and x-ray illumination optics shared by both the XRR and XPS measurement subsystems. This increases throughput and measurement accuracy by simultaneously collecting XRR and XPS measurement data from the same area of the wafer. A combined XRR and XPS system improves measurement accuracy by employing XRR measurement data to improve measurements performed by the XPS subsystem, and vice-versa. In addition, a combined XRR and XPS system enables simultaneous analysis of both XRR and XPS measurement data to more accurately estimate values of one of more parameters of interest. In a further aspect, any of measurement spot size, photon flux, beam shape, beam diameter, and illumination energy are independently controlled.

A method and apparatus for detection of charged particles in spectroscopy. Charged particles, received from an energy dispersive spectroscopic analyser as a charged particle beam, are accelerated towards a detector. The accelerated charged particles are received at an array of detecting pixels, the array of detecting pixels forming the detector. The charged particles arriving at the detector have a spread in the energy dispersive direction.

A method and apparatus for detection of charged particles in spectroscopy. Charged particles, received from an energy dispersive spectroscopic analyser as a charged particle beam, are accelerated towards a detector. The accelerated charged particles are received at an array of detecting pixels, the array of detecting pixels forming the detector. The charged particles arriving at the detector have a spread in the energy dispersive direction.

A waveform analytical device 4 which analyzes a target waveform which is a chromatogram or an optical spectrum includes a waveform division unit 54 configured to divide the target waveform into a plurality of partial waveforms, a determination unit 55 configured to determine whether each of the plurality of partial waveforms of the target waveform is a peak portion using a learned model created by machine learning using a plurality of sets of a plurality of partial waveforms created by dividing a reference waveform having a peak portion whose position is known, and a classification unit 56 configured to classify the target waveform into a peak region where the peak portion continues and a non-peak region other than the peak region based on a determination result from the determination unit.