Overview

General Description

The KLA-Tencor P-10 Profiler measures step height, waviness and roughness of a surface.  It can accommodates up to 200 mm (8") diameter substrates, and measures vertical features ranging from the nanoscale to approximately 300 um.  Small samples may need to be adhered to a carrier wafer for measurement. Please note that this this instrument uses MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System). It does not support USB flash drives or screen captures.

Standard Operating Procedure

This instruction covers the set-up and safe use of the KLA-Tencor P10 Stylus Profiler.  This machine is a stylus contact profiler capable of 150mm scan lengths with ~10Å resolution and ~20Å noise floor.  It is capable of measuring step height, roughness, and waviness on samples with a firm surface.

1.    SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

1.1        Eye protection must be worn whenever in the cleanroom, except when using a microscope or when wearing protective goggles.

1.2        Information regarding the hazardous materials used in this lab may be found through SDS documentation located on the Wiki.

1.3        Operate the P10 Stylus Profiler with all protective shields and doors in place.   

1.4        Do not reach into the tool except to place your sample on the chuck. Do not put your hands under the scan head, or you may damage the stylus.

2.    EQUIPMENT

2.1        KLA-Tencor P10 Stylus Profiler

2.2        Floating isolation optical table

2.3        VLSI Standards:
             2.3.1    VLSI Step Height Standard, 8.00 um
             2.3.2    VLSI Step Height Standard, 9400Å (940nm)

3.    TOOL CONFIGURATION

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3.    TOOL LIMITATIONS

The performance of the tool is dependent upon proper operation by the user, and by not exceeding the tool capability. 

3.1        Do not try to measure samples that are too thick and too big in size for the instrument.

3.2        Do not measure step heights that are beyond the range of the instrument.

3.3        Do not move the stage with the stylus lower than the top of the sample surface.

3.4        Always scan left to right.  This protects the stylus.

 Sample size requirements/restrictions

• Vertical range 0 to 300 um

• Substrate sizes from 3mm x 3mm up to 150mm in diameter.

• 2 um radius diamond stylus with 60° cone angle

• Maximum scan length of 150mm

 Material Limitations:

• No uncured SU8

• No uncured PDMS

• No uncured photoresists

• No soft materials that might stick to the stylus

4.    CYCLE OF OPERATIONS

4.1        Start the software

• Enable the tool in iLab

• Double click the Profiler icon.  The software will open up to the Top Level Menu page.

• Select the Scan icon

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4.2        Choose an existing recipe by placing the cursor over the recipe and double left click (_STEPHTH; 327um or less, _STEPHTM; 65um or less, _STEPHTL; 13um or less). The recipe selection will depend on the size of the sample step to be measured.

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4.3        Press XY button to switch to camera mode:

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4.4        Load Your Sample

•               Press the MAN LOAD button, this will move the stage towards you.

•               Once the stage has stopped, open the door.

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4.5        Observe the 5 small vacuum ports near the center of the chuck, then:

• Load your sample with extreme care, and place it in the exact center of the chuck.

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4.6        Double check to make sure the sample is in the center of the stage.

4.7       Press the FOCUS , this will move the stylus head down to the surface of the sample

             NOTE: Pressing the spacebar will stop the movement of the measurement assembly

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4.8        Use the arrows or click on the image to position the sample for measurement

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 4.9        Once your feature is in view, click and drag (from left to right) to define your scan path. 

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4.10           Refer to Section 5 of this document if the scan parameters need be adjusted

Additional Scan Hints and Tips:

4.11      Once all your scanning parameters are set, press the START button in the top menu bar.

5.    Analyze the scan

After the scan completes, your data will display in the Analysis Window

5.1        Leveling your scan.

              If your data is not level, you may level it and define a flat plane in the software

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5.2        Measuring your step height

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 5.3        To measure another area different from the first:

5.4         SUPPLEMENTAL DATA (Edit Recipes and Performance Specifications)

6.    Unload Your Sample

6.1        Press the XY button and then the MAN LOAD button.  This will raise the stylus head, and move the stage towards you.             

6.2        Open the door once the stage has stopped moving.             

6.3        Turn off the vacuum switch, and carefully remove your sample from the stage. 

6.4        Close the door. 

6.5        Press the MAN LOAD button again to return the stage to its home position. 

6.6        Exit out of the software at the end of your session. 

6.7        Disable use of the machine within i-Labs.

7.    REVISION RECORD 

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