Designation: F 95 – 89 (Reapproved 1995)e1

AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS

100 Barr Harbor Dr., West Conshohocken, PA 19428
Reprinted from the Annual Book of ASTM Standards. Copyright ASTM

Standard Test Method for

Thickness of Lightly Doped Silicon Epitaxial Layers on
Heavily Doped Silicon Substrates Using an Infrared
Dispersive Spectrophotometer1
This standard is issued under the fixed designation F 95; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of original
adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A superscript
epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.

e1 NOTE—Keywords were added editorially in January 1995.

INTRODUCTION

In editions of this test method published through 1987, the title and scope of the method required
that the epitaxial layer and substrate be of the same conductivity type. This requirement was dropped,
allowing the epitaxial layer and substrate to be of opposite conductivity type in the revision first
published in 1988, subject to the continuing requirements of minimum allowed resistivity of the
epitaxial layer and maximum allowed resistivity of the substrate. This same revision changed
specifications on dispersive instruments from wavelength values to wave number values, where
appropriate. A brief description of the theory of this test method is given in Appendix X1.
Automated test systems, utilizing Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectrophotometry (FT-IR) are
widely used for epitaxial layer thickness measurements. Because such instruments are normally
supplied with proprietary software for measurement analysis, detailed procedures for the use of such
instruments are not included in this test method. However, for information purposes, estimates of
single instrument repeatability and multiinstrument reproducibility, based on a 1986/1987 multilabo-
ratory comparison of FT-IR instrument measurements are given in Note 6 and Appendix X2.
Automated test systems, utilizing Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectrophotometry (FT-IR) are
widely used for epitaxial layer thickness. Because such instruments are normally supplied with
proprietary software, detailed procedures for the use of such instruments are not included in this test
method.

1. Scope 1.3 This test method is suitable for referee measurements.

1.1 This test method2 provides a technique for the measure- 1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the
ment of the thickness of epitaxial layers of silicon deposited on safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the
silicon substrates. A dispersive infrared spectrophotometer is responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-
used. For this measurement, the resistivity of the substrate must priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-
be less than 0.02 V·cm at 23°C and the resistivity of the layer bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.
must be greater than 0.1 V·cm at 23°C. 2. Referenced Documents
1.2 This technique is capable of measuring the thickness of
2.1 ASTM Standards:
both n- and p-type layers greater than 2 µm thick. With reduced
E 177 Practice for Use of the Terms Precision and Bias in
precision, the technique may also be applied to both n- and
ASTM Test Methods3
p-type layers from 0.5 to 2 µm thick.
E 932 Practice for Describing and Measuring Performance
of Dispersive Infrared Spectrophotometers4
1
This test method is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee F-1 on F 84 Test Method for Measuring Resistivity of Silicon
Electronics and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee F01.06 on Silicon Slices with an In-Line Four-Point Probe5
Materials and Process Control.
Current edition approved Aug. 25, 1989. Published October 1989. Originally 3. Terminology
published as F 95 – 68 T. Last previous edition F 95 – 88a.
2
DIN 50437 is an equivalent method. It is the responsibility of DIN Committee
3.1 Definitions:
NMP 221, with which Committee F-1 maintains close technical liaison. DIN 50437.
Testing of Inorganic Semiconductor Materials: Measurement of the Thickness of
3
Silicon Epitaxial Layers by the Infrared Interference Method, is available from Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 14.02.
4
Beuth Verlag GmbH Burggrafenstrasse 4-10, D-1000 Berlin 30, Federal Republic of Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 03.06.
5
Germany and Vol 10.05. Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 10.05.

1
 F 95
3.1.1 epitaxial layer—in semiconductor technology, a layer
of semiconductor material having the same crystalline spacing
as the host substrate on which it is grown.
3.1.2 index of refraction—the relative index of refraction is
defined by Snell’s law as the ratio of the sine of the angle of
incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction. The angles are
measured between the surface normal and the infrared beam.
The value of this index for the wavelength range from 6 to 40
µm is 3.42 relative to air for silicon having resistivity greater
than 0.1 V·cm.
3.1.3 interface—the boundary between the substrate and the
epitaxial layer as determined by this technique.
3.1.4 substrate—in semiconductor technology, a wafer that
is the basis for subsequent processing operations in the
fabrication of semiconductor devices or circuits.
3.1.4.1 Discussion—The devices or circuits may be fabri-
cated directly in the substrate or in a film of the same or another
material grown or deposited on the substrate.
4. Summary of Test Method
4.1 The reflectance of the specimen is measured as a
function of wave number using an infrared spectrophotometer.
The reflectance spectrum of a suitable specimen exhibits
successive maxima and minima characteristic of optical inter-
ference phenomena. The thickness of the epitaxially deposited
layer is calculated using the wave numbers of the extrema in
the reflectance spectrum, the optical constants of the layer and
the substrate, and the angle of incidence of the infrared beam
upon the specimen.
5. Apparatus
5.1 Double-Beam Infrared Spectrophotometer—This appa-
ratus shall utilize monochromatic infrared light of known and
variable wave numbers. This light shall be reflected from the
specimen and the reflectivity shall be recorded as a function of
wave number. It is essential that the wave numbers indicated
by the apparatus be carefully calibrated. Calibration accuracy
shall be determined in accordance with Practice E 932, using
polystyrene lines at 1601.6 and 648.9 cm−1. The calibration
accuracy shall be 0.05 µm. The useful range of wave number is
1670 to 250 cm−1. The precision and thickness capabilities
stated in Section 11 were established using data in the range
900 to 300 cm−1. In general, thinner specimens require a
broader wavelength range than thicker ones.
5.2 Specimen Holder—The specimen holder shall be so
constructed that no damage can be inflicted by the holder on
the epitaxial layer.
5.3 Masking Aperture—The size of the masking aperture
shall be such as to restrict the illuminated area on the specimen
surface to a value sufficiently small to eliminate the effect of
thickness fluctuations, without impairing detection of the
reflected light. The masking aperture shall be constructed from
a nonreflecting material such as matte-surface graphite.
6. Test Specimen
6.1 The specimen surface shall be highly reflective, free
from large-area imperfections, and free of passivating layers
except native oxides. The specimen surface may be cleaned
prior to measurement by any technique which does not affect
the specimen polish or the layer thickness.
7. Preparation of Apparatus
7.1 Establish the maximum allowable scan speed as fol-
lows:
7.1.1 Choose a specimen with a substrate resistivity be-
tween 0.008 and 0.02 V·cm, (see Scope) and an epitaxial layer
of such thickness that an observable minimum occurs at a wave
number less than 400 cm−1.
7.1.2 Choose a suitable masking aperture.
7.1.3 Place the specimen on the instrument and record the
spectrum of a minimum wave number less than 400 cm−1 using
the slowest scan speed available.
7.1.4 Record the position of the minimum.
7.1.5 Increase the scan speed in steps and record the
position of the minimum for each scan speed.
7.1.6 Allowable scan speeds are those which show a shift of

TABLE 1 Phase (Shifts (f/2p) for n-Type Silicon

Wave- Resistivity, V·cm
length,
µm 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008 0.009 0.010 0.012 0.014 0.016 0.018 0.20

2 0.033 0.029 0.028 0.027 0.027 0.026 0.025 0.024 0.023 0.022 0.020 0.019 0.017 0.016 0.021
4 0.061 0.050 0.047 0.046 0.045 0.043 0.041 0.039 0.038 0.036 0.034 0.031 0.029 0.027 0.025
6 0.105 0.072 0.064 0.062 0.060 0.057 0.055 0.052 0.050 0.048 0.044 0.042 0.039 0.036 0.033
8 0.182 0.099 0.083 0.078 0.075 0.071 0.067 0.064 0.016 0.059 0.054 0.051 0.047 0.043 0.040
10 0.247 0.137 0.105 0.095 0.090 0.084 0.079 0.075 0.071 0.069 0.063 0.059 0.055 0.051 0.047
12 0.289 0.183 0.132 0.115 0.106 0.098 0.091 0.084 0.081 0.078 0.072 0.067 0.062 0.057 0.053
14 0.318 0.225 0.164 0.137 0.124 0.113 0.104 0.097 0.092 0.087 0.080 0.074 0.069 0.064 0.059
16 0.339 0.258 0.197 0.163 0.144 0.129 0.117 0.109 0.102 0.097 0.088 0.082 0.075 0.070 0.065
18 0.355 0.283 0.226 0.189 0.166 0.146 0.131 0.121 0.113 0.107 0.096 0.089 0.082 0.076 0.070
20 0.368 0.303 0.251 0.214 0.188 0.165 0.147 0.134 0.124 0.117 0.105 0.096 0.088 0.081 0.075
22 0.378 0.319 0.272 0.236 0.209 0.183 0.163 0.148 0.136 0.127 0.113 0.104 0.095 0.087 0.081
24 0.387 0.333 0.289 0.255 0.229 0.202 0.179 0.162 0.148 0.138 0.122 0.111 0.101 0.093 0.086
26 0.394 0.344 0.303 0.272 0.246 0.219 0.196 0.177 0.161 0.150 0.131 0.119 0.108 0.099 0.091
28 0.401 0.353 0.316 0.286 0.261 0.235 0.211 0.191 0.175 0.161 0.141 0.127 0.115 0.104 0.096
30 0.406 0.362 0.326 0.298 0.275 0.250 0.226 0.206 0.188 0.173 0.150 0.135 0.121 0.110 0.101
32 0.411 0.369 0.336 0.309 0.287 0.263 0.240 0.219 0.210 0.185 0.160 0.143 0.128 0.116 0.106
34 0.415 0.375 0.344 0.319 0.297 0.274 0.252 0.232 0.213 0.197 0.170 0.151 0.135 0.122 0.112
36 0.419 0.381 0.351 0.327 0.307 0.285 0.263 0.243 0.225 0.209 0.180 0.160 0.143 0.129 0.117
38 0.422 0.386 0.357 0.335 0.315 0.294 0.273 0.254 0.236 0.220 0.191 0.167 0.150 0.135 0.123
40 0.425 0.391 0.363 0.341 0.323 0.302 0.283 0.264 0.246 0.230 0.200 0.178 0.158 0.141 0.128

2

the minimum of less than 61 cm−1 relative to the position of
the minimum as determined at the slowest scan speed.
8. Procedure
8.1 Handle the specimen carefully to avoid surface damage
to the thin epitaxial layer.
8.2 Place the specimen over the aperture mask to expose the
desired location to the beam.
8.3 Obtain a reflection spectrum similar to that shown in
Fig. 1. Do not attempt a calculation of layer thickness if the
peak amplitude to noise amplitude ratio is less than five.
NOTE 1—The interference pattern may be obscured or illegible if the
thickness of the epitaxial layer varies by more than 4 % over the masking
aperture, or if the interface impurity concentration profile does not
approximate a step function.
8.4 Determine the wave number of each extremum in the
reflection spectrum by averaging the intercepts of the reflection
spectrum and a horizontal line 3 % of full scale below a
maximum or above a minimum. This procedure reduces the
ambiguity encountered when the extrema are broad.
NOTE 2—A more correct procedure for locating the position of the
extrema on layers less than 2 µm thick is to draw the tangent envelops to
the spectrum and determine the intersection of the envelopes with the
interference spectrum.6 However, this procedure is apparently more
difficult to perform since its use in a round-robin test (see 11.3) resulted in
reduced rather than improved precision.
8.5 Measure the resistivity of the substrate in the area of the
thickness measurement on the side opposite the epitaxial layer
using the four-probe method of Test Method F 84.
9. Calculation
9.1 Determine the orders for the maxima and minima
observed using the following equation:
P2 5 ml1/~l1 2 l2! 1 1/2 2 ~f2l1 2 f22l2!/2p~l1 2 l2!
where:
P2 = order of the extremum associated with l2,
l1 = 10 000/y1,
l2 = 10 000/y2,
m = difference in the orders of the extrema considered, and
f21 and f22 are the phase shifts suffered by the ray reflected
at the interface for l1 and l2 respectively.
6
Schumann, P. A., “The Infrared Interference Method of Measuring Epitaxial
Layer Thickness,’’ Journal Electrochemical Society, Vol 116, 1969, p. 410.
FIG. 1 Typical Reflection Spectrum for n-Type Specimen
F 95
9.1.1 Obtain the phase shifts f21 and f22 from Table 1 or
Table 2. Round off the calculated order, P2, to an integer for a
maximum and a half integer for a minimum. After calculating
one order, assign the orders to the remaining extrema in
descending order with increasing wavelength as shown in Fig.
1.
9.2 Calculate the thickness using the following equation:
Tn 5 @Pn 2 1/2 1 ~f2n/2p!#·ln/2~n12 2 sin2u!1/2 (2)
where:
Tn = epitaxial layer thickness,
n1 = index of refraction of the epitaxial layer (n1 = 3.42 for
silicon),
u = angle of incidence of the beam upon the epitaxial
layer, and
the other symbols have the same meaning they had in Eq. 1.
Use the same units for the thickness as for the wavelength.
Calculate Tn for all of the observed maxima and minima and
calculate the average value of T.
NOTE 3—When several extrema are available, somewhat better
precision than that reported in Section 11 will result if the longer
wavelength points are excluded from the calculation.
9.3 Sample Calculation—Typical data and a calculation of
epitaxial layer thickness for an n-type specimen, using the
reflection spectrum shown in Fig. 1, are as follows:
9.3.1 The measured value of substrate resistivity was 0.014
V/cm.
9.3.2 Determine wavelength of first and last extrema;
l1 = 31.70 µm and l2 = 15.28 µm.
9.3.3 Read appropriate phase shifts from Table 1: f21/
2p = 0.142 and f22/2p = 0.079.
9.3.4 Find from Fig. 1 the difference in the orders of the
extrema considered: m = 3.5.
(1) 9.3.5 Substitute in Eq. 1 and solve for P2:
P2 5 3.5 ~31.70!/~31.70 2 15.28! 1 1/2 2 @31.70 ~0.142! (3)
2 15.28 ~0.079!#/~31.70 2 15.28! (4)
5 6.80 1 0.50 2 0.20 5 7.10 '7 (5)
9.3.6 Substitute in Eq. 2 and solve for T2:
T2 5 ~7 2 1/2 1 0.079!~15.28!~0.1477! 5 14.85 µm
NOTE 4— 1⁄2(n12 − sin2 u )1/2 = 0.1477 for u = 30°.
9.4 Tabulate nn, ln, f2n/2p, Pn, and Tn for all the maxima
and minima in Fig. 1 as shown in Table 3.
3
 F 95
TABLE 2 Phase Shifts (f/2p) for p-Type Silicon
Wave- Resistivity, V·cm
length,
µm 0.001 0.0015 0.002 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008 0.009 0.010 0.012 0.014 0.016 0.018 0.020

2 0.036 0.034 0.033 0.033 0.033 0.034 0.034 0.033 0.032 0.031 0.030 0.028 0.027 0.025 0.024 0.024
4 0.067 0.060 0.057 0.055 0.055 0.055 0.055 0.054 0.052 0.050 0.049 0.045 0.043 0.040 0.038 0.037
6 0.119 0.091 0.082 0.076 0.074 0.073 0.072 0.071 0.068 0.066 0.064 0.059 0.056 0.053 0.050 0.049
8 0.200 0.140 0.114 0.099 0.094 0.091 0.089 0.086 0.083 0.080 0.077 0.072 0.067 0.064 0.060 0.059
10 0.261 0.199 0.158 0.127 0.115 0.110 0.105 0.102 0.097 0.093 0.089 0.083 0.078 0.073 0.070 0.068
12 0.300 0.247 0.205 0.160 0.140 0.130 0.123 0.117 0.111 0.106 0.101 0.094 0.088 0.083 0.078 0.076
14 0.327 0.282 0.244 0.194 0.167 0.152 0.141 0.133 0.126 0.119 0.113 0.104 0.097 0.091 0.087 0.084
16 0.346 0.307 0.274 0.226 0.195 0.175 0.161 0.151 0.141 0.132 0.126 0.115 0.106 0.100 0.094 0.091
18 0.361 0.327 0.297 0.253 0.221 0.198 0.182 0.168 0.157 0.146 0.138 0.125 0.116 0.108 0.102 0.099
20 0.373 0.342 0.315 0.274 0.243 0.220 0.202 0.186 0.173 0.160 0.151 0.136 0.125 0.117 0.100 0.106
22 0.383 0.354 0.330 0.292 0.263 0.240 0.220 0.204 0.188 0.175 0.164 0.147 0.134 0.125 0.117 0.113
24 0.391 0.365 0.342 0.307 0.279 0.257 0.238 0.220 0.204 0.189 0.177 0.158 0.144 0.133 0.125 0.120
26 0.398 0.374 0.352 0.320 0.294 0.272 0.253 0.236 0.219 0.203 0.190 0.169 0.153 0.142 0.132 0.127
28 0.404 0.381 0.361 0.331 0.306 0.285 0.267 0.250 0.233 0.217 0.203 0.180 0.163 0.150 0.140 0.134
30 0.409 0.387 0.369 0.340 0.316 0.297 0.279 0.262 0.245 0.229 0.215 0.191 0.173 0.159 0.148 0.141
32 0.414 0.393 0.376 0.348 0.326 0.307 0.290 0.273 0.257 0.241 0.227 0.202 0.182 0.167 0.155 0.148
34 0.418 0.398 0.381 0.355 0.334 0.316 0.299 0.284 0.268 0.252 0.238 0.213 0.192 0.176 0.163 0.155
36 0.421 0.403 0.387 0.362 0.341 0.324 0.308 0.293 0.277 0.262 0.248 0.223 0.201 0.185 0.171 0.162
38 0.425 0.407 0.391 0.368 0.348 0.331 0.316 0.301 0.286 0.271 0.258 0.232 0.211 0.193 0.178 0.169
40 0.428 0.410 0.396 0.373 0.354 0.338 0.323 0.309 0.294 0.280 0.266 0.241 0.219 0.201 0.186 0.176

TABLE 3 Example of Thickness Computations (See Fig. 1) precision was established in a round-robin experiment in which
n ln f2n /2p Pn Tn eight laboratories made one measurement on each of six layers
1 31.70 0.142 3.5 14.71 with thickness in the range from 2.5 to 15 µm.
2 27.48 0.124 4 14.71 11.3 For n- or p-type layers of thickness 0.5 to
3 24.52 0.113 4.5 14.89
4 21.75 0.103 5 14.79
approximately 2 µm, the measurement can be made with an
5 19.68 0.095 5.5 14.81 interlaboratory precision of 6(0.51 µm + 0.035 T) (3S). This
6 17.88 0.088 6 14.76 precision was established in a round-robin experiment in which
7 16.42 0.082 6.5 14.75
8 15.28 0.079 7 14.85
seven laboratories made one measurement on each of five
Average ... ... ... 14.78 layers with thickness in the range from 1 to 7 µm.
NOTE 5—Use of the procedure described in Note 2 for locating
10. Report positions of extrema in Note 2 resulted in greater variability of the
measurement.
10.1 Report the following information:
10.1.1 Identification of slices. 11.4 The bias of this technique has not been established, and
10.1.2 Substrate conductivity type, the relation to layer thickness as determined by other methods
10.1.3 Substrate resistivity, is not known.
10.1.4 Epitaxial layer conductivity type, NOTE 6—A sampling of six similar FT-IR systems has demonstrated
10.1.5 Estimated epitaxial layer resistivity, single-system-operator-day precisions of 60.1 µm (2S), as defined in
10.1.6 Wave number range of infrared apparatus used, Practice E 177. No full round robin has been run; however, the mean value
10.1.7 Aperature size, of thickness determined by each of these six systems has been shown to
10.1.8 Wave number scan speed, agree with the overall mean value to within 65 %. The difference between
the thickness as determined by this method and that determined by the
10.1.9 Location of measurement with sketch of specimen,
automatic test systems exhibits a small linear dependence on thickness. As
10.1.10 Wave numbers used, ln, an example, for one system over the thickness range 3 to 30 µm on n/n +
10.1.11 Orders of maxima and minima used Pn, and p/p + wafers with resistivities between 0.002 and 0.014 V·cm, this
10.1.12 Thicknesses calculated, Tn, and difference is given by the relation:
10.1.13 Average thickness value, T. Ts 5 1.0026 T 2 0.283
11. Precision and Bias where:
11.1 For p-type layers of thickness greater than Ts = thickness value from automatic test system, µm, and
approximately 2 µm, the measurement can be made with an T = thickness value from this method, µm.
interlaboratory precision, as defined in Practice E 177, of The factor 1.0026 and the term − 0.283 µm result from a
6(0.25µ m + 0.025 T) (3S) where T is the layer thickness in least-squares fit to the data.
micrometres. This precision was established in a round-robin An extensive multilaboratory test was conducted in 1986/
experiment in which eight laboratories made one measurement 1987 to determine the precision of epitaxial layer thickness
on each of six layers with thickness in the range of 2.5 to 18 measurements made by FT-IR instruments. For details see
µm. Appendix X2.
11.2 For n-type layers of thickness greater than
approximately 2 µm, the measurement can be made with an 12. Keywords
interlaboratory precision of 6(0.25 µm + 0.005 T) (3S). This 12.1 epi; epi thickness; epitaxial layer; FTIR; index of

4
 F 95
refraction; IR; layer thickness; spectrophotometer

5
 F 95

APPENDIXES

(Nonmandatory Information)

X1. THEORY OF METHOD

X1.1 Detailed discussions of this technique have been where:

published elsewhere.7,8,9 For this method to be applicable, an l = wavelength in vacuum,
observable difference must exist between the optical constants n1 = refractive index of the layer which converts the
of the epitaxial layer and the substrate. The limits on the optical path length in the layer to an equivalent path
resistivity of the layer and the substrate stated in 1.1 have been length in vacuum,
found to assure a sufficiently large difference in the optical f1 = phase shift at point A, and
constants to produce useful maxima and minima in the f2 = phase shift at point B
AB, BC, and AD are distances defined in Fig. X1.1; they
reflection spectrum of a specimen which meets the other stated
must have the same units as l.
requirements. The index of refraction of the layer, n1, is
assumed to be independent of wavelength. X1.3 From Fig. X1.1 it is evident that:
AB 1 BC 5 2T/cos u8 (6)
X1.2 Maxima and minima will be observed in the reflection
and
spectrum when the optical path lengths of the ray reflected
from the layer surface and the ray reflected from the interface AD 5 2T tan u8 sin u (7)
differ by an integral number of half wavelengths. Referring to X1.4 From Snell’s law:
Fig. X1.1, the relative phase, d, of the outgoing rays at C and
sin u 5 n1 sin u8 (8)
D is:
d 5 @2p~AB 1 BC!/l#n1 2 ~2p AD/l! 1 f1 2 f2 X1.5 Thus
AB 1 BC 5 2Tn1/~n12 2 sin2 u !1/2 (9)
and
7
Spitzer, W. G., and Tanenbaum, M., “Interference Method for Measuring the AD 5 2T sin2 u/ ~n12 2 sin2 u!1/2 (10)
Thickness of Epitaxially Grown Films,’’ Journal of Applied Physics, Vol 32, 1961,
p. 744. X1.6 Substituting these expressions into Eq. 1:
8
Albert, M. P., and Combs, J. F., “Thickness Measurement of Epitaxial Films by
the Infrared Interference Method,’’ Journal Electrochemical Society, Vol 109, 1962, d 5 @4pT~n12 2 sin2 u!1/2/l# 1 f1 2 f2 (11)
p. 790.
9
Schumann, P. A., Phillips, R. P., and Olshefski, P. J., “Phase Shift Corrections X1.7 The order, P, is defined by:
for Infrared Interference Measurement of Epitaxial Layer Thickness,’’ Journal
Electrochemical Society, Vol 113, 1966, p. 368. d 5 2 Pp (12)

X1.8 If two extrema in interference amplitude are observed,

the corresponding orders P1 and P2 are found by solving Eq. 8
for P and eliminating d using Eq. 7:
P1 5 @2T~n1 2 2 sin2 u!1/2/l1# 1 ~f11/2p! 2 ~f21/2p! (13)
and
P2 5 @2T~n12 2 sin2 u!1/2/l2# 1 ~f12/2p! 2 ~f22/2p! (14)
where by convention
l1 . l2 (15)
and
P2 5 P1 1 m (16)
where: m = ⁄ , 1, ⁄ , 2, since the difference in orders is a
12 32

whole or half integer.

X1.9 Solving Eq. 9, Eq. 10, and Eq. 12 for P2:
P2 5 @ml1/~l1 2 l2!# 1 @~f11l1 2 f12l2!/2p~l1 2 l2!#
2 @~f21l1 2 f22l2!/2p~l1 2 l2!# (17)

X1.10 For the case of light reflected at an air-insulator

interface as in Fig. X1.1, f1n = p, with the appropriate
FIG. X1.1 Geometry of Method substitution in Eq. 13, the result is Eq. 1 in 7.1.

6
 F 95
X1.11 The expression for thickness, Eq. 2, can be derived
by solving Eq. 7 and Eq. 8 for T with the suitable substitution
of p for f1n.

X2. REPEATABILITY AND REPRODUCIBILITY OF MULTILABORATORY TESTING USING FT-IR INSTRUMENTS

X2.1 Epitaxial wafer samples were produced having radial thickness measurements, was selected to be included in
nominal epi thickness of 2.5, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, and 120 µm. the round-robin sample set.
N type; epi layers were deposited over blanket, uniform, X2.1.2 The round-robin required that each of the eight
n+ regions that had been implanted into p type polished samples be measured three times per day on each of 3 days.
substrates. The n+ , arsenic implant layers were the basis for The complete round-robin data base contained a total of 1485
well defined transition zones, that is, the epi to substrate measurements from 21 instruments. Generally, each instrument
interfaces were well controlled and the in-depth carrier density contributed 72 data points. Not all instruments were able to
profiles were very uniform, as verified by spreading resistance measure thick layers. There were three instruments that could
profile. not measure the sample with the thickest epitaxial layer,
X2.1.1 To minimize the influence of radial thickness nominally 120 µm. These instruments each contributed 63 data
variations, subsets of eight to ten wafers in each of the points.
thickness categories were examined. All the wafers were put
through a screen for radial thickness uniformity. The one wafer X2.2 Repeatability (Single Instrument): Repeatability
in each thickness subset with the most uniform thickness, that values, for nine repetitions, are tabulated in Table X2.1, in
is, the minimum percent difference between the center and the terms of two relative standard deviations (2s %); the values are
TABLE X2.1 Repeatability of Single Instrument Responses for Nine Component Measurements
Instrument Sample
Number
A-2.5 B-5 C-10 D-15 E-20 F-25 G-50 H-120
1 1.52 % 0.82 % 0.00 % 0.66 % 0.00 % 0.57 % 0.21 % 0.58 %
2 0.76 % 0.41 % 0.22 % 0.13 % 0.10 % 0.16 % 0.17 % 1.02 %
3 0.00 % 0.00 % 0.00 % 0.13 % 0.10 % 0.33 % 0.46 % 0.81 %
4 0.76 % 0.00 % 0.00 % 0.13 % 0.10 % 0.16 % 0.63 % 1.02 %
5 0.76 % 0.00 % 0.00 % 0.00 % 0.31 % 0.41 % 0.00 % 0.09 %
6 0.85 % 0.00 % 0.00 % 0.00 % 0.00 % 0.00 % 0.00 % 0.59 %
7 0.00 % 0.00 % 0.00 % 0.13 % 0.10 % 0.08 % 0.04 % 0.08 %
8 1.53 % 0.41 % 1.31 % 0.93 % 0.62 % 0.57 % 0.42 % 0.42 %
9 0.77 % 0.41 % 1.09 % 0.00 % 0.41 % 0.24 % 0.17 % 0.10 %
10 0.15 % 0.41 % 0.22 % 0.53 % 0.41 % 0.65 % 0.66 % 0.36 %
11 0.00 % 0.41 % 0.22 % 0.53 % 0.41 % 0.65 % 0.66 % 0.14 %
12 0.38 % 0.41 % 0.11 % 0.13 % 0.10 % 0.16 % 0.12 % 0.15 %
13 1.53 % 0.20 % 0.11 % 0.13 % 0.10 % 0.16 % 0.08 % 0.17 %
14 0.77 % 0.41 % 0.11 % 0.07 % 0.10 % 0.24 % 0.25 % 0.12 %
15 0.77 % 0.82 % 0.65 % 0.66 % 0.82 % 0.33 % 0.04 % 0.20 %
16 3.77 % 0.83 % 0.66 % 0.54 % 0.73 % 0.33 % 0.37 % 0.26 %
17 0.77 % 0.41 % 0.11 % 0.13 % 0.21 % 0.24 % 0.12 % 0.98 %
18 1.70 % 2.55 % 0.22 % 0.13 % 21.68 % 0.56 % 11.09 % ...
19 3.04 % 0.21 % 0.11 % 0.07 % 0.10 % 0.08 % 0.08 % 0.07 %
20 0.18 % 0.21 % 0.00 % 0.00 % 0.05 % 0.16 % 0.33 % ...
21 0.00 % 0.84 % 0.11 % 0.26 % 0.40 % 0.32 % 0.94 % ...

7
 F 95
seen to depend both on epitaxial layer thickness and on 1.83 % to 9.99 % (2s %). The reproducibility data is tabulated
instrument. The single instrument repeatability was found to be in Table X2.2. This tabulation shows that the poorest
better than 1 % (2s %) for 92 % of the test results, and better reproducibility, 9.99 % (2s %), was obtained in the case of the
than 4 % for nearly 99 % of the test results. With the exception thinnest (2.6 µm) epi layer, and the best, 1.83 % (2s %), was
of two anomalously large values reported for Instrument 18, obtained with the thickest, 117 µm epi layer, Sample H-120.
the repeatabilities for the thinnest epitaxial layer (nominal 2.5
µm) were poorer than those for thicker samples. Based on these TABLE X2.2 Reproducibility of Laboratory Averages
results, instruments functioning in good order should Sample Mean 2S 2RS %
demonstrate repeatabilities of less than 4 % (2s %) for epitaxial A-2.5 2.61 0.26 9.99
layers with uniform thickness of at least 2.5 µm. B-5 4.83 0.16 3.41
C-10 9.20 0.33 3.54
D-15 15.11 0.37 2.42
X2.3 Reproducibility (Multiinstrument): Based on analysis E-20 19.56 1.11 5.66
including 21 instruments and 8 specimens measured using each F-25 24.58 0.49 1.99
instrument on each of 3 days; the multiinstrument G-50 48.29 1.37 2.84
H-120 117.44 2.14 1.83
reproducibility of the measurement is estimated to range from

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