Microscope for quantitative 3-D characterization of nano- and microstructured surfaces

所用设备应用于以非破坏性方式确定大面积高空间分辨率的结构和表面轮廓。激光扫描、聚焦变化和白色光干涉测量三种互补方法的结合，提供了从纳米到毫米的宽范围内的精确结构分析。可以对获得的图像进行定量分析。可以精确分析且不失真的结构范围还包括具有高纵横比的结构。测量本身不包括探针和材料之间的强相互作用。此外，该方法不需要特定的甚至破坏性的样品制备步骤，并且可以在空气中的环境条件下进行。由于这种能力和条件的结合，明斯特大学物理系和自然科学系的广泛研究将受益于这种目前尚不具备的测量方法。申请小组工作的应用实例包括金属中溅射坑的定量几何分析，半导体或陶瓷材料，用于光学和光子电路的多步光刻结构化的扩散分析或过程控制测量，仅列出几个选定的例子。由于这些应用，设备必须位于与洁净室内的光刻设备直接的空间环境中。具体地，对于由对在电子显微镜表征期间发生的加速电子的辐射损伤具有高灵敏度的材料组成的结构，该装置将允许以增强的精度、无损伤和减少的处理时间来确定光刻工艺的不同步骤处的结构方面。出于这些原因，所应用的设备将大大扩展明斯特大学自然科学系内三维结构定量结构分析的可用能力，并且它将可供明斯特纳米制造设施内的广泛用户使用。

The applied device shall serve to determine structures and surface profiles over large areas with high spatial resolution in a non-destructive manner. The combination of three complementing methods: laser scanning, focus variation and white light interferometry serves to provide precise structure analyses in the wide range from nanometers to millimeter. Images obtained can be analyzed quantitatively. The range of structures that can be analyzed precisely and without distortions includes also structures with high aspect ratios. The measurement itself does not include a strong interaction between probe and material. Moreover, the method does not require specific or even destructive sample preparation steps and can be carried out under ambient conditions in air. Due to this combination of capabilities and conditions, a wide range of research within the department of physics of the University of Muenster and within the faculty of natural sciences shall profit from this measurement method that is currently not available.Examples for applications from the work of the applying groups comprise the quantitative geometrical analysis of sputter craters in metallic, semiconducting or ceramic materials for diffusion analyses or process control measurements for the multi-step lithographic structuring of optical and photonic circuits, to list a few selected examples. Due to these applications, it is imperative that the device shall be situated in direct spatial context with the lithography devices inside the clean room. Specifically, for structures consisting of materials with high sensitivity against radiation damage by accelerated electrons as incurring during electron microscopy characterization, the device would allow determining the structural aspects at different steps of the lithographic process with enhanced precision, no damage and reduced processing time. For these reasons, the applied device would substantially extend the available capabilities for quantitative structure analyses of 3-dimensional structures within the faculty of natural science at the University of Münster and it would be available for the broad range of users within the Münster Nanofabrication Facility.