A Model for Step Height, Edge Slope and Linewidth Measurements Using AFM

Nano‐scale linewidth measurements are performed in semiconductor manufacturing and in the data storage industry and will become increasingly important in micro‐mechanical engineering. With the development of manufacturing technology in recent years, the sizes of linewidths are steadily shrinking and are in the range of hundreds of nanometers. As a result, it is difficult to achieve accurate measurement results for nanometer scale linewidth, primarily because of the interaction volume of electrons in materials for an SEM probe or the tip size of an AFM probe. However, another source of methods divergence is the mathematical model of the line itself. In order to reduce the methods divergences caused by different measurement methods and instruments for an accurate determination of nanometer scale linewidth parameters, a metrological model and algorithm are proposed for linewidth measurements with AFM. The line profile is divided into 5 parts with 19 sections and 20 key derived points. Each section is fitted ...