Novel near-field optical probe for 100-nm critical dimension measurements

Although the theoretical resolution for a conventional optical microscope is about 300 nm, it is normally difficult to obtain satisfactory critical dimension (CD) measurements below about 600 nm. E-beam technology has been popular for sub-500 nm metrology but also has well known limitations. Scanning probe and near-field optical methods have high spatial resolution. Yet they are ill-suited for routine CD metrology of high aspect ratio features because of a combination of short working distances (< 10 nm) and large tips. In this paper the authors present the concept and initial modeling results for a novel near-field optical probe that has the potential of overcoming these limitations. The idea is to observe resonance shifts in a waveguide cavity that arise from the coupling of the evanescent field of the waveguide to perturbations beneath the waveguide plane. The change in resonance frequency is detected as a change in the transmission of a monochromatic probe beam through the waveguide. The transmitted intensity, together with the appropriate signal processing, gives the topography of the perturbation. The model predicts that this probe is capable of determining the width of photoresist lines as small as 100 nm. The working distance is much more practical than other probe techniques at about 100 to 250 nm

Construction of filter vectors for the information-efficient spectral imaging sensor

The information-efficient spectral imaging sensor (ISIS) seeks to improve system performance by processing hyperspectral information in the optical hardware. Its output may be a gray scale image in which one attempts to maximize the contrast between a given target and the background. Alternatively, its output may be a small number of images, rather than a full data cube, that retain the essential information required in the application. The principal advantage of ISIS is that it offers the discrimination of hyperspectral imaging while achieving the signal-to-noise ratio of multispectral imaging. The paper focuses on construction of the filter vectors that are needed to program ISIS. The instrument produces an image which is essentially a dot product of the scene and the filter vector. Both single vector and multiple vector approaches are considered. Also, they discuss some subtle points related to optimizing the filter vectors

A two dimensional array of optical interference filters produced by lithographic alterations of the index of refraction

We describe a new concept for producing, on a single substrate, a two-dimensional array of optical interference filters where the pass-band of each element can be independently specified. The interference filter is formed by optically contacting two dielectric mirrors so that the top quarter-wave films of the two mirrors form a Fabry-Perot cavity having a half-wave thickness. In the new device, we propose to etch an array of sub-wavelength patterns into the top surface of one of the mirrors before forming the cavity. The patterns must have a pitch shorter than the operational wavelength in order to eliminate diffraction. By changing the index of refraction of the half-wave layer, or the optical thickness of the cavity, the patterning is used to shift the pass-band and form an array of interference filters. One approach to producing the array is to change the fill factor of the pattern. Once the filter array is produced it may be mated to a two-dimensional detector array to form a miniature spectrophotometer

Trace water determination in gases by infrared spectroscopy

Water determination in semiconductor process gases is desirable in order to extend the life of gas delivery systems and improve wafer yields. The authors review their work in applying Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy to this problem, where a 10 ppb detection limit has been demonstrated for water in N{sub 2}, HCl, and HBr. The potential for optical determination of other contaminants in these gases is discussed. Also, alternative optical spectroscopic approaches are briefly described. Finally, they discuss methods for dealing with interference arising from water in the instrument beam path, yet outside the sample cell

Photodegradation in ballistic laminates: Spectroscopy and lifetime extension

Several years ago, the Materials and Process Sciences Center (Org. 1800) was asked by Dept. 9613 to study the materials aging issues which had led to the loss of ballistic protection by Armored Tractor (AT) windshields and windows. The authors speculated that this loss of impact strength was due to photodegradation of the polycarbonate (PC) inboard ply. They developed a spectroscopic method to identify changes in the outboard surface of the PC, and showed that the changes in the surface which occurred upon natural aging in the field could be reproduced by exposing the laminates to a simulated solar flux. Based on these results, they recommended changes in the adhesive interlayers to filter out the ultraviolet (UV) light causing the aging problem. Working with the laminate vendor, PPG, they re-designed the laminates to implement these changes and block essentially all UV light from the inboard ply. The most recent phase of this work involved accelerated solar aging of laminates made with the new design to verify that photoaging effects have been blocked by the new materials. They report here the results of that study, and recommended follow-on work