| US 7,573,582 B2 | ||
| Method for monitoring film thickness, a system for monitoring film thickness, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, and a program product for controlling film thickness monitoring system | ||
| Toru Mikami, Kanagawa (Japan) | ||
| Assigned to Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba, Tokyo (Japan) | ||
| Filed on Jan. 31, 2008, as Appl. No. 12/10,936. | ||
| Application 12/010936 is a division of application No. 10/933441, filed on Sep. 03, 2004, granted, now 7,348,192. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. P2003-314626 (JP), filed on Sep. 05, 2003. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2008/0151271 A1, Jun. 26, 2008 | ||
| Int. Cl. G01B 11/02 (2006.01); G01B 11/28 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 356—504 [356/630] | 6 Claims |
| 1. A computer program product tangibly embodied on a computer readable medium containing instructions for controlling an in-line
monitoring system so as to execute a sequence of successive monitorings of respective thicknesses of a subject uppermost film
deposited on an underlying multi-layer structure in each of a plurality of manufacturing stages, the underlying multi-layer
structure comprising a plurality of thin films formed on a substrate by previous manufacturing stages, the monitoring system
having a thickness memory for storing the thickness data of each of the thin films of the underlying multi-layer structure,
the thickness data being determined before the subject uppermost film is formed on the underlying multi-layer structure, the
computer program product including a plurality of sub-programs, each of the sub-programs being configured to determine only
a corresponding thickness of the subject uppermost film at one of the plurality of manufacturing stages, the sub-program corresponding
to a subject manufacturing stage comprising:
instructions configured to measure an optical spectrum profile of the subject uppermost film formed on the underlying multi-layer
structure;
instructions configured to read the thickness data of each of the thin films of the underlying multi-layer structure from
the thickness memory;
instructions configured to calculate a plurality of theoretical optical spectrum profiles of the subject uppermost film based
upon corresponding candidate film thicknesses of the subject uppermost film, using a measurement recipe for the subject uppermost
film and the thickness data of each of the thin films of the underlying multi-layer structure; and
instructions configured to search one of the theoretical profiles of the optical spectrum of the subject uppermost film, which
is closest to the measured optical spectrum profile of the subject uppermost film so as to determine a thickness of the subject
uppermost film by the closest theoretical profile.
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