Abstract: The method measures the temperature, emissivity, and other properties of relatively smooth surfaces radiating thermal energy, and is especially adapted for monitoring semiconductor fabrication processes. Temperature is determined by relating measured radiance to the predictions of the Planck radiation law, using knowledge of the emissivity determined from an analysis of the polarization of the thermally emitted radiance. Additional information regarding the properties of thin films, such as thickness and composition, can be computed from the emissivity or the ratio of the emissivities measured at two independent polarizations. Because the data are obtained from the intrinsic thermal radiance, rather than from an extrinsic light source, the measurement can be performed when it is inconvenient or impossible to provide a light source for reflectance measurements.

Abstract: The composition, free carrier concentrations, and other properties of thin films and graded layers embedded in film stack structures are measured by the method of the invention, which is based upon the application of two novel algorithms to extract the composition of a measured layer independently of the confounding effects of additional layers, and which can be effected even when calibration samples are not available with the same layered structure as the samples to be measured. The method uses sample model-based analysis algorithms to extract the dielectric function of the layer to be measured, combined with model-based analysis to relate the composition of the layer to its dielectric function.