A substrate lift mechanism includes a plurality of fingers mounted on a hoop controlled by an actuator to transfer a substrate, such as a wafer or a flat panel display, from an edge grip arm to a chuck on a processing tool, such as integrated metrology tools. The substrate lift mechanism includes a base that is configured to be mounted to existing processing tools thereby allowing the processing tools to be adapted to be operable with new edge grip arms. The plurality of fingers are positioned t...

An optical measurement instrument that detects and analyzes reflected light includes a sample support, such as a wafer supporting chuck, with a sample bearing surface that is configured so as to not reflect light back to the optical measurement instrument. In one embodiment, the sample bearing surface of the sample support is a layer of material that absorbs light in the wavelength or wavelengths being used by the optical measurement instrument. For example, a hard plastic, such as poly-ether-et...

A method for controlling a polar coordinate stage moves an object relative to an imaging system. While moving the object, the image of the object is rotated to compensate for rotation of the object. Accordingly, the orientations of features in the image are preserved, and removal of apparent rotation in the image reduces confusion an operator experiences while directing movement of the object. The angular velocity of the motion of the object is controlled so that image shift speed is independent...

The correction for scattered light reflected from a substrate having surface irregularities and the measurement of thin film thickness on that substrate are made using a spectrophotometer system and the Fresnel reflectance equation.

In an electron microscope employing a multi-element electrostatic lens and a position adjustable electron emission gun, the gun tip must be in precise alignment with the very small apertures in the lens elements for high resolution imaging. If the tip is precisely aligned, there will be no variations in displacement of an image if the lens element potentials are varied; if there is misalignment, the image displacement will vary with voltage variations. Thus, proper alignment of the gun tip is ea...

A time delayed differential weighing procedure used with an electronic analytical balance is optimized for samples exhibiting a small change in mass, for example from deposition, etching, plating or corroding, relative to the sample mass to minimize all significant sources of error that could otherwise degrade the measurement results, such as errors resulting from air density and temperature changes that occur during the interval between the first measurement of a sample, before the sample is pr...

A highly compact reflectometer system (10) for obtaining reflectance data and images from a sample (18). The reflectometer includes a light source (20) for generating a beam (Bi), a beam splitter (44) for transmitting a portion of the beam toward the sample, a lens (52) for focusing the transmitted light onto the sample, a video camera (104) for viewing a field of view (56) created by the light focused on the sample, and a spectrometer (86) for detecting and analyzing the spectrum of the light r...

In making precision measurements with a television camera tube, the inherent scan non-linearity and magnification variations are readily calibrated by painting a grid of known dimensions on the tube face.

A very wide band beam splitter for operation in the range between deep ultraviolet of 190 nanometers and into infrared is comprised of uncoated transparent material only 0.10 to 0.15 mm. in thickness.

A method for determining a value of absolute reflectance of a material at a predetermined wavelength, in the ultraviolet range from its measured reflectance which includes system losses contributed by optics, illumination sources, detectors, etc. The method involves the measurement of reflectance from a known material such as single crystal silicon whose absolute reflectance is well known, dividing the measured value by the absolute value to obtain a system efficiency coefficient at the known wa...