Abstract: A method of semiconductor surface measurement for measuring electrical characteristics of a surface of a semiconductor body is disclosed, by which an electrode, whose surface, which is opposite to the surface of a semiconductor substrate, is flat and the gap between the electrode and the surface is smaller than 0.5 .mu.m.

Abstract: An equipment for manufacturing semiconductor devices has: a reaction chamber in which a substrate to be processed is placed; means for evacuating the reaction chamber; means for introducing a reaction gas into the reaction chamber; means for applying polarized light to the surface of the substrate for the purpose of depositing a thin film on the surface of the substrate using a photochemical reaction between the light and the reaction gas; and means for adjusting the direction of polarization of the light so as to be substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of a stepped circuit pattern present on the surface of the substrate for the purpose of flattening the circuit pattern.

Abstract: An electron spin resonance spectrometer is disclosed, in which a sample made of a semiconductor material or the like is illuminated with light while being applied with a magnetic field and a microwave, to detect the electron spin resonance due to a defect in a light-illuminated portion of the sample, on the basis of a photo-induced voltage appearing across the sample or a reduction in microwave intensity caused by the microwave absorption of the sample.

Abstract: An apparatus according to the present invention for thin film formation using a photo-induced chemical reaction comprises a reaction chamber in which a substrate can be set, means to introduce a reactive gas into the reaction chamber for the purpose of causing a surface of the substrate to adsorb the reactive gas, means to evacuate the reaction chamber, means to irradiate the substrate surface having adsorbed the reactive gas with photon energy for the purpose of forming a nucleus required for growing a film on the substrate surface, means to generate metastable excited molecules which can react with the reactive gas to decompose it, and means to introduce the reactive gas and the metastable excited molecules into the reaction chamber for the purpose of growing the film on the substrate formed with the nucleus on the basis of the nucleus.

Abstract: A method of photochemically treating a surface of a material is disclosed which includes a step of introducing a reaction gas into a reaction chamber having a substrate therein, to make the reaction gas be adsorbed on the surface of the substrate, and a step of exposing the substrate to radiation of a wavelength at which the absorption of radiation energy by the reaction gas existing in the inner space of the reaction chamber is negligibly small and the radiation energy is absorbed by the reaction gas adsorbed on the surface of the substrate, wherein the kind of the reaction gas and the wavelength of the radiation are selected so that the surface of a predetermined material forming a pattern on the substrate can be selectively treated.

Abstract: The present invention consists in a grazing incidence reflection spectrometer wherein light is caused to incide on a surface of a sample, and an intensity of light reflected from the sample surface is detected, thereby to measure an electronic absorption spectrum of a material adsorbed to the sample surface, characterized in that the incident light is visible light or ultraviolet light, and that the incident light has a predetermined glancing angle to the sample surface.

Abstract: A dry etching method according to the present invention is composed of the steps of evacuating the reaction chamber in which a substrate to be etched is set, introducing etching gas into the reaction chamber, causing the substrate to adsorb the introduced etching gas and thereafter evacuate the etching gas remaining in the reaction chamber, and irradiating the surface of the substrate to be etched with photon energy through a light window provided in the reaction chamber.

Abstract: An etching apparatus according to the present invention comprises means to generate metastable excited species such as of nitrogen or rare gas molecules, means to transfer the metastable excited species into a reaction chamber in which a substrate to-be-etched is set, and means to introduce a reactive gas for etching into the reaction chamber in which the substrate to-be-etched is set; the reactive gas being activated by collision between the metastable excited species and the reactive gas so as to etch the substrate to-be-etched owing to a reaction between the activated reactive gas and the substrate to-be-etched. Further, a light source for photo-exciting the substrate to-be-etched may well be added.