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Sta da d Ope ai g P o edu e

Profilometer - KLA-Tencor Alpha-Step IQ

The KLA-Te or Alpha-“tep IQ “urfa e Proilo eter is a e ha i al, st lus- ased step proiler oferi g a o plete suite of -D a al sis features for surfa e topograph a al sis.

1.0 Operation Procedures

Deli ate – To p ote t the a hi e a d the safet of ou sa ples, please use e t e e a e i pla i g a d alig i g ou sa ples. The ip of the p oilo ete is

e s all a d deli ate. Ne e ja o o e ou sa ple u less ou k o that the head is i st safel et a ted. Slo o e e ts ith ou sa ples a d ou t eeze s is est. The stage ill oll out so ou a easil et ie e ou sa ple. Step heights g eate tha 880 i o s should e a oided. The est a to s a su h featu es is sta i g the s a f o the top of the featu e a d allo i g the st lus to o e do f o the highe le el. This is safe:

Please take a moment to review general lab safety information in section 4 of this document.

1.1 Sign in on the Authorized User Check-In Log. Record the start time and note the

comments of the previous users.

1.2 Turn on the power of the computer. This will simultaneously switch on the

surface profiler. There are four LED indicator lights on the left side of the profiler.

Make sure the green LED is on and the blue LED is flashing, which means the

profiler is working normally. There should also be a beam of camera backlight

from the stylus arm assembly.

1.3 Wait for the Windows XP desktop to appear.

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1.4 Double-click on the Alpha-Step IQ shortcut on the desktop. The KLA-Tencor login

screen is displayed. The elevator stage moves to its home position and the

system performs various self-tests that are chronicled as a series of screen

messages. Wait for about 20 seconds until the system indicates it is ready for

use.

1.5 Log into the software by choosing Username: USER. There is no password, leave

it blank, and click the Enter button.


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1.6 The software main window is then displayed. The window is divided into two

horizontal areas. The upper part allows defining and controlling the

measurement, and the lower part is dedicated to the profile display (the profile

curve and associated metrological results).

1.7 Make sure the elevator stage is in its lowest position by clicking and holding the

button (Up) until the elevator stage has fully lowered. Verify that the Elevator

Position value in the upper part (Measurement Control Area) of the main

window is near a zero value. A value between 0 µm and 500 µm is acceptable.

1.8 Turn the Y-axis adjustment knob to move the stage forward to you.

1.9 Open the measurement area door and place the sample on the stage table. Use

proper handling techniques to avoid scratching or contaminating the sample.

1.10 Close the measurement area door and turn the Y-axis adjustment knob to move

the stage backward. Use the Y- and X-axis adjustment knobs to center the stage

under the scanner. If the sample is small in nature, center it near the area where

the stylus comes down.


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1.11 Place your head on the side of the stage and look at the front to back alignment

to make sure your sample is under the stylus. It is difficult to see the front to

back alignment just by looking from the front of the machine.

1.12 IMPORTANT: To prevent damage to the stylus, always lower the elevator stage

before loading or unloading a sample. Make yourself familiar with how to

move the stylus and the elevator stage up and down by the following table.

1.13

1.14 The surface profiler contains a high-resolution video camera. To view the sample

under the camera, the stylus must come in contact with the surface because the

camera view is focused on the stylus tip. To do this, double-click the button

(Down). The stylus will move down and the elevator stage will move up. It will

automatically stop once the stylus touches the sample surface.

1.15 NOTE: As a safety precaution, the stylus will not go past the point of contact

with the surface. Nothing will happen if you continue to press button

(Down) after the stylus has touched the surface.


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1.16 The stylus and the sample are now in camera view. The video display offers

crosshairs to help in precise positioning. See the photo below for a typical view

as the stylus contacts the cample. You can capture one still image by clicking

Capture Image button. It can be deleted at any time by clicking Delete Image

button. The captured image will also be included in the data analysis report that

is automatically generated after the measurement.

1.17 Press the button (Up) once to retract the stylus up and away from the

surface.

1.18 Now, you can use the X- and Y-axis adjustment knobs on the left side of the

profiler to position the sample to the desired location. Align the feature of

interest to the right or to the left of the live video screen crosshairs.

1.19 NOTE: If necessary, you can increase the video screen by right-clicking on the

live video image and selecting Maximize Video. You can also minimize it again

by right-clicking on it and selecting Minimize Video.


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1.20 To define a profile measurement, several settings are required. These settings

can be defined, saved into a single file, and retrieved. This batch of information is

alled Re ipe . 1.21 Click on the Edit button in the Measurement Control Area to enable the fields.

1.22 Define the scan settings:

1.22.1 Scan Length – can be entered in units of µm (10 mm max in right

direction and 2 mm max in left direction)

1.22.2 Number of Scans – A multi-scan mode of up to 10 repeated scans at the

position can be selected. The mean and standard deviation of the

measurements will be calculated.

1.22.3 Scan Speed – speeds between 2 µm/s to 200 µm/s can be selected

1.22.4 Advanced – This gives other options for scan speed, including scan delay.

1.22.5 Sampling Rate – rates between 50 Hz to 1000 Hz can be selected

1.22.6 Scan Time – This is automatically determined by the Scan Length, Scan

Speed, and Number of Scans parameters that are selected.

1.22.7 Scan Direction – Either the right or left direction arrow can be selected.

Note that the maximum scan length differs by direction: 10 mm max in

right direction, 2 mm max in left direction.

1.22.8 Resolution – This is automatically determined by the Scan Speed, and

Sampling Rate parameters that are selected. For example, a slower scan

speed and higher sampling rate will yield higher resolution.

1.23 Define the stylus settings:

1.23.1 Sensor Range – the maximum height difference that the stylus can

easure peak to alle . There are three t pes of se sor ra ges: µm, 400 µm and 2 mm. You can select the sensor range that best fits your

scan purposes

1.23.2 NOTE: If you are not sure of the dimensions of the features to be

scanned, a sensor with the largest range should be used first. Choosing

a sensor with a smaller range than the actual feature size can result in

damages to the sensor and to the sample.


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1.23.3 Adjustment – defines where the stylus sets when it is brought down to

the surface by the Down arrow key. There are three different biases:

Center, Valley, and Peak Bias.

1.23.4 Center Bias – The stylus sets in the middle of the sensor range (e.g. for

the 400 µm range, ±200 µm can be measured). It is ideal for a randomly

distributed surface measurement (e.g., surface roughness measurement).

1.23.5 Valley Bias – The stylus sets at the top of the sensor range (e.g. for the

400 µm range, 0 to -400 µm can be measured). It is ideal for a hole or

trench measurement.

1.23.6 Peak Bias – The stylus sets at the bottom of the sensor range (e.g. for the

400 µm range, 0 to +400 µm can be measured). It is ideal for measuring

surfa e u ps.

1.24 NOTE: When using the 20 µm sensor, only the Center Bias can be used. For the

400 µm and 2 mm sensor ranges, any of the 3 biases can be used. Try to avoid

using Peak Bias (stepping up from bottom to the top of a feature). If it is

demanded, make sure the maximum height of the feature to be scanned

should not exceed 880 µm (the bevel height of the stylus tip). This will prevent

potential damage to the stylus.

1.25 Elevator Position – records the position of the elevator stage relative to its

origin, in order to assess remaining available height.

1.26 Required Stylus Force – set during Stylus Force Calibration by cleanroom

manager. The displayed value shows the current stylus force (for information

purpose only). The background color should remain green, which indicates that

the current stylus force is within 10% of the set point. If the color is yellow or

red, report on FAULTS.

1.27 Contact Speed – the speed at which the stylus approaches the sample, on a scale

from 1 to 10. The default value for silicon is 5. For softer materials (gold,

photoresist, etc.), a lower value should be used (1 to 3). To protect the stylus tip,

it is not recommended to use a contact speed value higher than 5.

1.28 Required Radius – set at 5 µm. Only one stylus with 5 µm radius is available for

this profiler, so this value should not be changed.

1.29 Select the analysis type:

1.29.1 Analysis – Three types of data analysis can be selected.

1.29.2 Measured Profile – the raw, unprocessed scan data profile as it was

acquired. This is the default analysis type when the actual scan starts.


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1.29.3 Step Height Analysis – the scan trace for step height analysis and related

parameters. This allows you to perform various types of data analysis,

including leveling, zooming in on a particular part of the data, etc.

1.29.4 Roughness/Waviness – the filtered roughness profile with related

parameters.

1.29.5 Click on Save or Save As in the Measurement Control Area to save the

current recipe. The recipe will be saved as an .aiq file.

1.30 Scan the Sample

1.30.1 With the sample in position and the desired recipe defined, click on

button (Start) to initiate the scan. The stylus will be brought down to the

sample surface. It will first make a 400 µm back scan in order to have a

constant speed during one scan. Then, at the starting point, data

collection begins. After the scan, the stylus will return to its original

position.

1.30.2 If you need to interrupt the scan at any point, click on button (Stop).

The stylus will be brought back to its initial position. The part of the

profile already scanned will be displayed while a flat line represents the

remaining part of the scan not profiled.

1.31 Data Analysis

1.32 After the scan, select Step Height Analysis as the analysis type if the current type

is Measured Profile. The profile is then plotted on the screen with the data

summary displayed next to it. The software automatically generates a report

template, which can be viewed by clicking on Data Review button at the top of

the Measurement Control Area.

1.33 Select the measuring profile features:

1.33.1 There are two options for measuring profile features: 2 bars and 2 zones.

These two buttons are located in the Analysis Display Area.


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1.33.2 The 2 bars option displays two vertical lines that can be clicked on and

dragged to any point on the profile to apply any of the data analysis

features to these points. Similarly, the 2 zones option can be selected and

moved to any point.

1.34 Leveling the profile:

1.34.1 In order to level a plot, two points on the profile whose heights are equal

must be chosen. The software recalculates the measurement data to

make these heights equal on the display, and the rest of the profile is

displayed relative to these two points.

1.34.2 Click on the Leveling button next to the plot to open the leveling window.

There are different types of leveling operations. The most common

ethod is Leveling using 2 zones Delta Averaging ”, where the two

zones are placed at two points of same height, and the profile is

reoriented relative to these two points. The leveling window shows both

the original scan trace and the plot that results after leveling is applied.

1.35 Zooming the profile:

1.35.1 Click on the Zoom button next to the plot to open the zoom window. This

will allow you to zoom in on any part of the scan trace, or to view the

entire profile.

1.36 Display scan trace parameters:

1.36.1 Click on the Parameters button in the Analysis Display Area to display any

scan trace parameters of interest. Some of the main scan trace

parameters include:

1.36.2 Pos (L), Pos (R) – identify the position of cursors along X-axis. If cursors

are in 2-zones mode, the position is defined as the center of the two

cursors L or the two cursors R.

1.36.3 Height (L), Height (R) – identify the profile height along Z-axis. The height

can be positive or negative, depending on the location of the zero

reference

1.36.4 Width – the horizontal distance between the cursors: Width = Pos (R) –

Pos (L).

1.36.5 Height – the vertical difference between the cursors: Height = Height (L)

– Height (R).


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1.36.6 TIR – Total Indicator Runout: the height difference between the highest

peak and the lowest valley within the measurement cursor bar area.

1.36.7 Zoom Window:

1.37 Unload the Sample and Shutdown the System

1.37.1 After the scan and data analysis, click on the Save Data button in the

Measurement Control Area to save the current data. The data will be

saved in an Analysis Document file (.mnt) and the values of scan trace

parameters will be exported to a .txt file.


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1.37.2 Click and hold the button (Up) to lower the elevator stage to its

lowest position.

1.37.3 Turn the Y-axis adjustment knob to move the stage forward to you.

1.37.4 Open the measurement area door and remove the sample with caution.

1.37.5 Close the measurement area door and move the stage backward.

1.37.6 To return to the login screen for the next user, just click on the User

button at the top of the Measurement Control Area. If no other user

wants to use the profiler at this time, click on the Exit button next to it to

close the software program and return to the Windows desktop.

1.37.7 Make your copy of the recipe (.aiq) and the scanning results (.mnt, .txt)

from the computer.

1.37.8 Shutdown the computer. Use the standard Windows START/SHUT DOWN

commands. Simultaneously, the surface profiler will also be turned off.

1.37.9 Complete the Authorized User Check-In Log and record the end time.

Report all problems encountered.

.0 Spe ii aio s / Featu es

Pre ise deter i aio a d a al sis of thi step heights, surfa e i ro rough ess, i ro a i ess, a d o erall for error o thi il oai gs

Ma i u sa ple size: dia eter

Ma i u sa ple thi k ess:

Ma i u proile le gth: i the right dire io , i the let dire io

Ma i u step height: or µ for steppi g do o diio s o l

“ a speed: µ /s to µ /s

Opi al ag ii aio : – sta dard

Horizo tal resoluio : . µ Å at µ /s s a speed

Veri al ra ge a d resoluio : At µ ra ge: ± µ at . Å eri al resoluio

At µ ra ge: ± µ at . Å eri al resoluio

At µ ra ge: ± µ at . Å eri al resoluio


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.0 Use Re ui e e ts

The Profilometer - KLA-Tencor Alpha-Step IQ must be used by authorized personnel only. All

authorized users are expected to read and understand this SOP and follow the operation

instructions carefully. No unauthorized personnel may use this equipment. All users must wear

appropriate personal protective equipment. To become an authorized user, one must:

1. Complete Environment, Health & Safety (EH&S) training

2. Complete initial orientation and training for the Davis Hall EE Cleanroom

3. Receive training on this piece of equipment from lab personnel

4. Schedule equipment time using the calendar

5. Read and fully understand this SOP

4.0 General Safety

4.1 Required Personal Protective Equipment

Users must wear coveralls, bouffant caps, shoe covers, safety glasses, and

gloves. Shorts, open-toed shoes, high heels, and skirts, are forbidden.

4.2 Emergency Procedures and Contacts

For non-life threatening emergencies: use the main cleanroom phone and call

the emergency contact #'s listed on the wall or for police / ambulance, call 645-

2222

In case of fire or other life threatening emergency: Exit the cleanroom through

an emergency exit door. Pull one of the fire alarms located in the main hallway

outside of the cleanroom. Dial campus police / ambulance at 645-2222.

4.3 University after hours laboratory use policy

No working alone, use the buddy system!

# Revised by Date Modification

1 )o g i “hirle Bei / / Do u e t i iial release

2 Da id Easo / / Edited for “afet -Da is release

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