Nondestructive characterization on thin films and their stack in MOEMS device is highly desirable. But, it is often a challenging task because the area is usually small. During processing of thin films, the deposition rates, optical properties, and mechanical properties must be fully understood to fabricate a device with desired performance. With the patterned surface, deposition rate of a typical physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique, such as electron-beam evaporation and sputtering, varies at different location due to shadow effect. In this study, spectroscopic ellipsometry and reflectometry were used to characterize the optical properties of electron-evaporation thin films on a flat substrate. On the other hand, microreflectometer was used to monitor the spectrum of deposited multi-stack of optical thin films inside via-holes. Combination of these two techniques provides a practical way to qualify the processing and ensure the device performance.

Date Published: 22 January 2005
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 5715, Micromachining and Microfabrication Process Technology X, (22 January 2005); doi: 10.1117/12.590309

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 5715:
Micromachining and Microfabrication Process Technology X
Mary-Ann Maher; Harold D. Stewart, Editor(s)