Assignee: Solid State Measurements, Inc.

Location: Pittsburgh, PA
No. of patents: 32

Number	Title	Issue Date
7362108	Method and system for measurement of sidewall damage in etched dielectric structures using a near field microwave probe By using techniques for near field probes to measure dielectric values of blanket films, the measure of the sidewall damage of the patterned structure is calculated. The interaction between the near field probe and the etched structure is modeled to obtain the model...	04/22/2008
7327155	Elastic metal gate MOS transistor for surface mobility measurement in semiconductor materials A semiconductor wafer or sample having a substrate of semiconducting material is tested by compressing a dielectric between three electrically conductive contacts and a top surface of the semiconductor wafer or sample substrate. The dielectric has a thickness that p...	02/05/2008
7304490	In-situ wafer and probe desorption using closed loop heating A semiconductor wafer is tested by heating an electrical contact to a temperature sufficient to desorb water vapor and/or organic material from a surface thereof. The semiconductor wafer is also heated to a temperature sufficient to desorb water vapor and/or organic...	12/04/2007
7295022	Method and system for automatically determining electrical properties of a semiconductor wafer or sample In a method and apparatus for determining one or more electrical properties of a semiconductor wafer or sample, the response of a semiconductor wafer or sample to an applied CV-type electrical stimulus is measured. Utilizing a recursive technique, progressively more...	11/13/2007
7285963	Method and system for measurement of dielectric constant of thin films using a near field microwave probe A measurement technique based on a microwave near-field scanning probe is developed for non-contact measurement of dielectric constant of low-k films. The technique is non-destructive, non-invasive and can be used on both porous and non-porous dielectrics. The techn...	10/23/2007
7282941	Method of measuring semiconductor wafers with an oxide enhanced probe A method of measuring at least one electrical property of a semiconductor wafer includes providing an elastically deformable and electrically conductive contact having an insulative oxide layer formed on an exterior surface thereof by a controlled oxidation process,...	10/16/2007
7250313	Method of detecting un-annealed ion implants A current-voltage response of at least one site of a semiconductor wafer where ions have been implanted in the semiconducting material of the semiconductor wafer is measured prior to annealing the semiconductor wafer. From the measured response, a determination is m...	07/31/2007
7190186	Method and apparatus for determining concentration of defects and/or impurities in a semiconductor wafer To determine a concentration of defects and/or impurities in a semiconductor wafer, a first value of current is caused to flow in the semiconductor wafer having a substrate of semiconducting material. The semiconductor wafer is exposed to a pulse of light whereupon ...	03/13/2007
7063992	Semiconductor substrate surface preparation using high temperature convection heating A method of processing a semiconductor wafer includes utilizing a heated gas to heat at least one part of a semiconductor wafer by convection whereupon at least one contaminant is desorbed therefrom. A stream of cooling gas is caused to pass over the one part of the...	06/20/2006
7037734	Method and apparatus for determining generation lifetime of product semiconductor wafers To determine the generation lifetime of a pn junction of a semiconductor wafer, an elastically deformable, electrically conductive contact is caused to touch a surface of the semiconductor wafer over the pn junction. At least one reverse bias voltage is applied to t...	05/02/2006
7026837	Method and apparatus for determining the dielectric constant of a low permittivity dielectric on a semiconductor wafer In an apparatus and method for determining a permittivity of a dielectric layer on a semiconductor wafer, a thickness of the dielectric layer is determined and a topside of the wafer is moved into contact with a spherical portion of an at least partially spherical a...	04/11/2006
7023231	Work function controlled probe for measuring properties of a semiconductor wafer and method of use thereof In a method of measuring at least one electrical property of a semiconductor wafer, an elastically deformable conductive contact formed from an electrically conductive coating overlaying an electrically conductive base material is provided. The base material has a f...	04/04/2006
7007408	Method and apparatus for removing and/or preventing surface contamination of a probe To remove and/or prevent contamination of a probe, at least a portion of the probe is positioned in a chamber having an inlet passage and an outlet passage, with a distal end of the probe extending through the outlet passage and terminating on a side thereof opposit...	03/07/2006
7005307	Apparatus and method for detecting soft breakdown of a dielectric layer of a semiconductor wafer To detect soft breakdown of a dielectric layer of a semiconductor wafer, a DC current is caused to flow between a top surface of the dielectric layer and the semiconducting material of the semiconductor wafer. The DC current is either a constant value DC current, or...	02/28/2006
6991948	Method of electrical characterization of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer A method of characterizing a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer, comprised of an insulating layer sandwiched between a semiconductor top layer and a semiconductor substrate, includes moving a pair of spaced conductors into contact with a surface of the wafer exposed o...	01/31/2006
6972582	Apparatus and method for measuring semiconductor wafer electrical properties An apparatus for measuring at least one electrical property of a semiconductor wafer includes a probe including a shaft having at a distal end thereof a conductive tip for electrically communicating with an object area of the semiconductor wafer. The apparatus furth...	12/06/2005
6900652	Flexible membrane probe and method of use thereof A measuring apparatus for measuring a semiconductor wafer, or a film or coating thereon, includes an electrically conductive wafer chuck and a probe having a probe body defining an internal cavity in fluid communication with an electrically conductive and elastic or...	05/31/2005
6894519	Apparatus and method for determining electrical properties of a semiconductor wafer An apparatus for measuring an electrical property of a semiconductor wafer includes a probe having an electrically conductive tip formed at least in part of a material that is transparent to light and a probe guard disposed adjacent the electrically conductive tip. ...	05/17/2005
6879176	Conductance-voltage (GV) based method for determining leakage current in dielectrics A leakage current of a dielectric overlaying a semiconductor wafer can be determining by moving a conductive probe into contact with the dielectric and applying an electrical stimulus, in the form of a fixed amplitude, fixed frequency AC voltage superimposed on a DC...	04/12/2005
6851096	Method and apparatus for testing semiconductor wafers A wafer testing apparatus comprises a sample chuck having a flat surface for supporting a test wafer positioned thereon, the sample chuck having a base structure manufactured of a conductive metal and having a semiconductor layer secured to the base structure defini...	02/01/2005
6842029	Non-invasive electrical measurement of semiconductor wafers A multi-probe assembly includes a chuck assembly configured to receive a back or front surface of a semiconductor wafer. A multi-probe holder has a plurality of probes each having an elastically deformable conductive tip movable into contact with a front surface of ...	01/11/2005
6836139	Method and apparatus for determining defect and impurity concentration in semiconducting material of a semiconductor wafer A charge carrier lifetime of a semiconductor wafer is measured by contacting an electrically conductive measurement probe to a surface of a semiconductor wafer to form a capacitor. A DC voltage having an AC voltage superimposed thereon is applied to the capacitor an...	12/28/2004
6803780	Sample chuck with compound construction A sample chuck for supporting sample semiconductor wafers during testing includes an upper layer formed from a semiconducting material laminated to a lower layer formed from a conducting material. ...	10/12/2004
6788076	Apparatus for determining doping concentration of a semiconductor wafer An apparatus for measuring at least one electrical property of a semiconductor wafer includes a probe including a shaft having at a distal end thereof a conductive tip for electrically communicating with an object area of the semiconductor wafer. The apparatus furth...	09/07/2004
6741093	Method of determining one or more properties of a semiconductor wafer A product semiconductor wafer has integrated circuits separated by scribe lines. A probe having an elastically deformable, electrically conductive tip is moved into contact with one of the scribe lines thereby forming a test structure. A suitable electrical stimulus...	05/25/2004
6657454	High speed threshold voltage and average surface doping measurements A method for measuring threshold voltage and average surface doping concentration of a semiconductor wafer begins by exposing a measurement site to a high intensity light immediately before a measurement sweep begins. A CV measurement sweep is made with t...	12/02/2003
6632691	Apparatus and method for determining doping concentration of a semiconductor wafer An apparatus for measuring at least one electrical property of a semiconductor wafer includes a probe including a shaft having at a distal end thereof a conductive tip for electrically communicating with an object area of the semiconductor wafer. The appa...	10/14/2003
6492827	Non-invasive electrical measurement of semiconductor wafers A semiconductor wafer probe assembly (10) includes a chuck assembly (18, 20) configured to receive a back surface (30) of a semiconductor wafer (14) and an electrical contact (20) for contacting the semiconductor wafer (14). A probe (36) having an elastic...	12/10/2002
6150832	Noncontact capacitance measuring device An apparatus for conducting noncontact capacitance versus voltage measurements over a flat surface of a test wafer comprises a capacitance measuring head mounted on a positioning arm. The positioning arm is kinematically mounted and positions the measurin...	11/21/2000
6052653	Spreading resistance profiling system A system for automatic spreading resistance profiling of wafer specimens. The system comprises a positioning stage for positioning the specimens for contact by probe tips and alternately a probe conditioning fixture or a sample calibration fixture. The sy...	04/18/2000
5036271	Apparatus for characterization of electrical properties of a semiconductor body An apparatus for the measurement of electrical properties of a semiconductor wafer is disclosed. A top contact mercury probe for contacting the upper surface of a wafer body is provided. The mercury probe is held by a kinematically stable probe arm which ...	07/30/1991
5023561	Apparatus and method for non-invasive measurement of electrical properties of a dielectric layer in a semiconductor wafer An apparatus and method for measurement of electrical properties of a dielectric layer on a semiconductor wafer body is disclosed. The apparatus supports the semiconductor wafer body in position and two electrical contacts are utilized, one of which is a ...	06/11/1991

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Assignee: Solid State Measurements, Inc.