Super resolution optical measurements of nanodefects on Si wafer surface using infrared standing evanescent wave.

Abstract: We propose a novel optical measurement technique that enables the sensitive evaluation of microdefects on a Si semiconductor wafer surface beyond the diffraction limit. The proposed measurement technique is based on a hybrid technique combining a super spatial-resolution measurement method using a structured illumination and a highly sensitive dark-field inspection method using an infrared evanescent illumination. Theoretical and experimental analyses suggest that this technique makes it possible to measure defects with 100-nm spatial resolution nondestructively with a wavelength of 1064nm without the need for time-consuming processes such as probe scanning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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