Thickness Distribution Measuring Device FiDiCa

New-type Thickness Distribution Measuring Device for Measuring and Visualizing Thickness Distribution of 1.5 Million Points Simultaneously

• The FiDiCa performs a pattern measurement on the thickness distribution of a thin film of 0.1 to 50 µm in a short time based on the spectroscopic interference method.
• The product indicates the measured patterns in a color map or bird's eye view and stores them in an electronic file as numeric data.
• In high-resolution mode, the device makes a high-resolution measurement of 1,024 x 1,536 pixels (0.2 mm meshes, in approximately 10 minutes) for an A4 size.
• In high-speed mode, it quickly finishes the measurement process in approximately 15 seconds (3.0 mm meshes) that starts with a measurement and ends with an indication of the measured data.
• The FiDiCa is suitable for product and process development, production control, and quality assurance in the fields of electronic materials, semiconductors, and films.

Overview of the Thickness Distribution-Measuring Device FiDiCa

In manufacturing products such as information technology materials, semiconductors, and functional films, it is considered essential to control the thickness of oxide and plastic films formed on the surfaces of materials. As a means of measuring film thicknesses, spectral thickness meters based on interference of light are known. These devices are designed to measure the thicknesses of "points". In recent years, however, needs are growing for manufacturing films with a uniform thickness, which requires devices capable of evaluating film thicknesses as "planes".

JFE-TEC has successfully developed and commercialized the world's first device that makes high-resolution and -precision measurements of the "distribution" of the thin film on a surface by scanning the object using a special spectral camera that can divide each line into 1,000 segments to make simultaneous spectroscopic measurements of them, measuring light interference spectra on the entire surface of an A4 size, and then processing the measured data.

The thickness distribution-measuring device "FiDiCa" provides two operation modes: high resolution and high speed. In high-resolution mode, it finishes a measurement process in approximately 10 minutes that begins with a measurement of an A4-sized object at high resolution of 1,024 x 1,536 pixels (0.2 mm meshes) and ends with the indication of the measured data. In high-speed mode, it measures the distribution of a film thickness to allow you to observe the measured data shown with 3-mm meshes on the object in approximately 15 seconds.

A single unit of the FiDiCa can measure the distribution of films with thicknesses of 0.1 to 50 µm. It can measure a variety of objects, including the surfaces of glass, plastics, silicon wafers, and metals. With the feature that it allows you to observe film thicknesses as "planes", which just had to be evaluated as "points", it is expected to be used in a wide range of applications such as product and process development, production control, and quality control.

JFE-TEC is responsible for manufacturing and providing the FiDiCa products. While the model released this time is designed for A4-sized samples, we can custom make devices according to your needs by, for example, modifying the visual filed width and travel distance or customizing the device for in-line arrangement.

Features and Performance of the Thickness Distribution Measuring Device FiDiCa

• Thickness distribution pattern measurement: Simultaneous measurements of A4-sized surfaces at a maximum resolution of 1,024 x 1,536 pixels
• Wide-range, high-precision measurement: Measurement reproducibility of 0.5% or less (against thickness values) for a film thickness range from 0.1 to 50 µm
• On-the-spot measurement and evaluation: 15 seconds (high-speed mode) to 10 minutes (high-resolution mode) from measurement to indication
• Measurement Modes selectable according to the purpose

• Realistic thickness distribution indication: color map and bird's eye views
• Handling as Excel data: The measured data is stored in the CSV format (editable with Excel)

Applications: Observation, Recoding, Evaluation, and Inspection of the Thickness Distribution of Thin Films on Objects

- Examples - Coatings on glass and plastic surfaces, surface oxide films on silicon wafers and metals, and functional films

Measurement example 3: Coatings on OHP sheets - Approximately 200 nm -

Fig. 2: Measurement example

Examples of Measurements Based on the Thickness Distribution Measuring Device FiDiCa

• Coating layer on a monochrome OHP sheet
• Coating layer on a color OHP sheet
• Commercially available cooking plastic wraps
• Openings of a Newton ring
• Oxide film on a silicon wafer
• Nitric film on a silicon wafer
• Polycarbonate coating on a CD surface