Methods and systems for semiconductor measurement based on pleochroic soft X-ray diffraction

摘要

Methods and systems for performing measurements of semiconductor structures based on high-brightness, pleochroic, reflective small-angle X-ray scatometry (RSAXS) measurements are presented herein. RSAXS measurements are performed simultaneously or continuously with a small illumination beam spot size over a range of wavelength, angle of incidence, and azimuth. In some embodiments, the RSAXS measurement is performed by X-ray radiation within the soft X-ray (SXR) region at a glazing incident angle in the range of 5-20 degrees. In some embodiments, the X-ray illumination source size is 10 micrometers or less, and the focusing optics project the source region onto the wafer with a reduction factor of 0.2 or less and incident less than 2 micrometers. Allows X-ray illumination spot size. In another aspect, the active optics project an illumination wavelength, incident angle, and azimuth in a programmed range, or any combination thereof, either simultaneously or continuously on the measurement area.