State Key Laboratory of Advanced Optical Communication Systems and Networks, School of Physics and Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, People's Republic of China. Key Laboratory for Thin Film and Microfabrication of the Ministry of Education, School of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, 800 Dongchuan Road, Shanghai 200240, People's Republic of China.
Nanotechnology. 2017 Dec 15;28(50):505201. doi: 10.1088/1361-6528/aa97f5.
Nanoscale metal-semiconductor (MS) structure materials occupy an important position in semiconductor and microelectronic field due to their abundant physical phenomena and effects. The thickness of metal films is a critical factor in determining characteristics of MS devices. How to detect or evaluate the metal thickness is always a key issue for realizing high performance MS devices. In this work, we propose a direct surface detection by use of the lateral photovoltaic effect (LPE) in MS structure, which can not only measure nanoscale thickness, but also detect the fluctuation of metal films. This method is based on the fact that the output of lateral photovoltaic voltage (LPV) is closely linked with the metal thickness at the laser spot. We believe this laser-based contact-free detection is a useful supplement to the traditional methods, such as AFM, SEM, TEM or step profiler. This is because these traditional methods are always incapable of directly detecting ultra-thin metal films in MS structure materials.
纳米尺度的金属-半导体（MS）结构材料由于其丰富的物理现象和效应，在半导体和微电子领域占据着重要的地位。金属薄膜的厚度是决定 MS 器件特性的关键因素。如何检测或评估金属厚度一直是实现高性能 MS 器件的关键问题。在这项工作中，我们提出了一种通过 MS 结构中的横向光伏效应（LPE）进行直接表面检测的方法，该方法不仅可以测量纳米尺度的厚度，还可以检测金属薄膜的波动。这种方法基于这样一个事实，即横向光伏电压（LPV）的输出与激光光斑处的金属厚度密切相关。我们相信这种基于激光的非接触式检测是对传统方法的有益补充，如 AFM、SEM、TEM 或台阶轮廓仪。这是因为这些传统方法总是无法直接检测 MS 结构材料中的超薄金属薄膜。
