Abstract: A method is described for non-contact measuring the capacitance and the equivalent oxide thickness of ultra thin dielectric layer on a silicon substrate. The surface of a dielectric layer is electrically charged by a flux on ions from a corona discharge source until a steady state is reached when the corona flux is balanced by the leakage current across a dielectric. The flux is abruptly terminated and the surface potential of a dielectric is measured versus time. The steady state value of the surface potential is obtained by extrapolation of the potential decay curve to the initial moment of ceasing the corona flux. The thickness of a dielectric layer is determined by using the steady state potential or by using the value of the surface potential after a predetermined time. The method produces highly accurate results for oxide thickness below 40 Å with a demonstrated repeatability of a 0.03 Å in a series of 10 measurements.

Abstract: A method is described for measuring the capacitance and the equivalent oxide thickness of an ultra thin dielectric layer on a silicon substrate in which the dielectric layer is uniform or patterned. The surface of a dielectric layer is electrically charged by a flux on ions from a corona discharge source until a steady state is reached when the corona flux is balanced by the leakage current across a dielectric. The flux is abruptly terminated and the surface potential of a dielectric is measured versus time. The steady state value of the surface potential is obtained by extrapolation of the potential decay curve to the initial moment of ceasing the corona flux. The thickness of a dielectric layer is determined by using the steady state potential or by using the value of the surface potential after a predetermined time.

Abstract: The invention relates to a device for contacting and electrically grounding semiconductor substrate coated with or otherwise having an insulating film positioned thereover. The device includes a chuck having a wafer support surface which holds the wafer and a scriber movably attached to the chuck. The scriber is configured to contact the wafer through an opening in the chuck and to produce a perforation through the insulating film. The device further includes an electrically conductive probe movably attached to the chuck and configured to be moved into an access opening in the chuck to contact the semiconductor substrate through the perforation. Thus, the device increases the accuracy of open circuit type measurements of the wafer surface potential, particularly for Kelvin and Monroe electrode measurements of electrical properties of insulating films on semiconductor substrates.

Abstract: A method of determining charge associated with traps present in a semiconductor oxide interface is described. The method includes the steps of depositing a dose of charge over a surface of the oxide and measuring a resultant value of surface potential barrier at the portion of the surface. From the measured value of surface charge and deposited charge dose a value of charge associated with the interface trap is determined. The method also includes determining space charge corresponding to the measured surface potential barrier of the portion of the substrate. With the determined space charge and known deposited charge the interface trapped charge is determined by noting that the change in interface trapped charge is related to the negative of the changes in space charge and deposited charge.

Abstract: A method for determining the depletion layer minority carrier lifetime .tau..sub.o in a depletion layer of a semiconductor wafer includes the following. A depletion layer is induced on a surface of the wafer. The wafer is heated to a temperature T.sub.1. A surface photovoltage is induced on the surface of the wafer with modulated light. A surface photovoltage .DELTA.V.sub.o1 is measured at a selected point of the wafer, at T.sub.1 and at a low light modulation frequency where the surface photovoltage is substantially independent of frequency. A surface photovoltage .DELTA.V.sub.1 is measured at the selected point, at T.sub.1 and at a higher light modulation frequency .omega. which is within a frequency range where the surface photovoltage is inversely proportional to frequency. A surface photovoltage response time .tau..sub.max1 is determined by the relationship: .tau..sub.max1 =.omega..sub.1.sup.-1 [(.DELTA.V.sub.o1 /.DELTA.V.sub.1).sup.2 -1].sup.1/2. The wafer is heated to a temperature T.sub.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for measuring the concentration of mobile ions in the oxide layer of a semiconductor wafer from the contact potential shift caused by ion drift across the oxide that includes depositing charge (e.g., using a corona discharge device) on the surface of the oxide and heating the wafer to allow mobile ions in the oxide (especially Na.sup.+) to drift. The difference in the contact potential measured before and after heating provides an indication of the mobile ion concentration in the oxide layer.

Abstract: Minority carrier diffusion lengths, especially long diffusion lengths that exceed the thickness of the wafer, are determined accurately and conveniently using techniques that limit errors due to lateral carrier diffusion, surface reflectivity, temperature variations, and inherent limitations in standard computation techniques that assume a diffusion length shorter than the wafer thickness. In particular embodiments, a probe is provided that senses the photovoltage in an area spaced from the edge of the illuminated region to provide a measurement substantially free of error from lateral carrier diffusion. The probe may also measure surface reflectivity simultaneously with measurement of photovoltage. Reflectivity correction is particularly beneficial in the analysis of wafers with dielectric coatings.

Abstract: Contamination of a fluid medium is measured using a thin-wafer sensor having a front surface and a back surface. The thin-wafer sensor is made of relatively pure p-type silicon and has a thickness less than the bulk diffusion length of the material. The back surface is placed in physical contact with the fluid being monitored either by building the sensor into a fluid testing chamber in line with the system using the fluid, or by immersing an encapsulated version of the sensor into the fluid medium. A photovoltaic generating and sensing system generates and measures e.g., the surface photovoltage (SPV), at the front surface. A series of SPVs are measured and used to derive the minority carrier diffusion length L of the sensor. The carrier diffusion length value is used to calculate the surface recombination velocity at the back surface.

Abstract: Crystalline quality of a semiconductor material near its interface with an insulator is evaluated by the photovoltage response to a light beam scanned in wavelength. The crystalline quality is determined from the photovoltage interference pattern in the region of intrinsic excitation of the material. A body of silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) is used to illustrate the method.

Abstract: Crystalline quality of a semiconductor material at its interface with an insulator is optically evaluated by a reflected light beam scanned in wavelength. The refractive index of the material at or near the interface is determined by calculation from the measured values of reflectivity extrema and compared, if desired, to the bulk refractive index of the material. This index is an indicia of the crystalline quality at the interface.

Abstract: The content of oxygen, if any, that is present in a body of essentially monocrystalline semiconductor material is determined by converting by heating all of the oxygen in the body to interstitial form. The oxygen content is measured by infrared beam evaluation of the absorption band to identify the interstitial oxygen present in the material.

Abstract: A semiconductor sensor adapted to detect with a high degree of sensitivity small magnitudes of a mechanical force, presence of traces of a gas or light. The sensor includes a high energy gap (i.e., .about. 1.0 electron volts) semiconductor wafer. Mechanical force is measured by employing a non-centrosymmetric material for the semiconductor. Distortion of the semiconductor by the force creates a contact potential difference (cpd) at the semiconductor surface, and this cpd is determined to give a measure of the force. When such a semiconductor is subjected to illumination with an energy less than the energy gap of the semiconductors, such illumination also creates a cpd at the surface. Detection of this cpd is employed to sense the illumination itself or, in a variation of the system, to detect a gas.