Specific Process Knowledge/Characterization/Profiler

Dektak 8 stylus profiler

Dektak8: positioned in cleanroom 4 - glass cage no. 3

Dektak 8 stylus profiler is a product of Veeco Instruments. It is usable for profiling surfaces of samples with structures in the micrometer range. It can measure in a specific point found with help from high magnification video cameras or it can be programmed to measure several points defined with respect to some deskew points. It can also be used for stress measurements of thin films by measuring the wafer bow.

To get some product information and some tips and tricks from the vendor take a look at Veeco's homepage [1]

A rough overview of the performance of Dektak 8 stylus profiler

Purpose	Profiler for measuring micro structures.	Single point profiles Wafer mapping Stress measurements by measuring wafer bow Surface roughness on a line scan
Performance	Scan range xy	Line scan x: 50 µm to 200 mm
	Scan range z	50 Å to 262 µm
	Resolution xy	down to 0.067 µm
	Resolution z	1Å, 10Å or 20Å
	Max. scan depth as a function of trench width W	1.2(W[µm]-5µm)
Hardware settings	Tip radius	5 µm 45o cone
Substrates	Substrate size	up to 8"
	Substrate material allowed	In principle all materials

Tencor stylus profiler

Tencor: positioned in cleanroom 4 - glass cage no. 3

Tencor P1 stylus profiler is a product of KLA-Tencor Corporation. It is usable for profiling surfaces of samples with structures in the micrometer range. It can measure in a specific point found with help from a high magnification video camera. It can also be used for stress measurements of thin films by measuring the wafer bow.

It is a very old system and should be treated with care.

Overview of the performance of Tencor P1 stylus profiler

Purpose	Profiler for measuring micro structures.	Single point profiles Stress measurements by measuring wafer bow Surface roughness on a line scan
Performance	Scan range xy	Line scan x: Full substrate size
	Scan range z	<100 Å to ~0.3 mm
	Resolution xy	up to 5900 data points per profile
	Resolution z	1Å or 25Å
	Max. scan depth as a function of trench width W	0.87(W[µm]-5µm)
Hardware settings	Tip radius	5 µm 60o cone
Substrates	Substrate size	up to 4"
	Substrate material allowed	In principle all materials

Comparing the profilers

Take a look at the topographic measurement page.