X-ray scattering from silicon surfaces

With the downscaling of integrated circuits, surface and interface roughness must be controlled to achieve those that are high-yielding. For roughness determination of high-quality surfaces and thickness control of ultrathin layers, some measurement equipment such as laser scattering, atomic force microscopy and ellipsometry is operating partly at its capability limits. X-ray scattering, which is a standard analytical method in basic search for the structure determination of thin layered solids, proves to be an innovative tool for surface and interface characterization.