Optical and X-Ray Characterization

Optical and X-ray techniques are powerful ways to characterize semiconductor thin films. They can be used to measure film thickness, purity and crystalline quality, and for compositional analysis. Modern techniques are fast, turn-key, and generally non-destructive, allowing for rapid assessment of material properties. This course describes the fundamentals of optical and X-ray characterization and provides real-world examples of how they are used in semiconductor manufacturing.

• Course Introduction
• Optical and X-ray techniques are powerful ways to characterize semiconductor thin films. They can be used to measure film thickness, purity and crystalline quality, and for compositional analysis. Modern techniques are fast, turn-key, and generally non-destructive, allowing for rapid assessment of material properties. This course describes the fundamentals of optical and X-ray characterization and provides real-world examples of how they are used in semiconductor manufacturing.
• Week 5.1: Reflectance Spectroscopy
• This week introduces the concept of reflectance spectroscopy: a rapid, convenient, and non-destructive technique for measuring the thickness of transparent materials.
• Week 5.2: Ellipsometry
• This week, you will learn about ellipsometry, a powerful technique that allows us to extract the thickness and refractive index of transparent layers as thin as a few nanometers.
• Week 5.3: Photoluminescence
• This week, you will learn about photoluminescence.
• Week 5.4: Electron Microprobe X-Ray Analysis
• This week, you will learn about electron microprobe X-ray analysis.
• Week 5.5: Course Wrap-up and Project
• This week, you will complete a case study to assess your ability to analyze electron microprobe x-ray images to determine the constituent elements in a 40 nm MOSFET.