IMEC licenses porosimetry technique
SOPRA will have its first commercial products using EP ready for shipping in summer 2004. Ellipsometric porosimetry (EP) allows cost-effective monitoring of porosity, pore size distribution (PSD), cumulative surface area (CSA) and pore interconnectivity in thin films deposited on top of any solid surface on a wafer level scale. EP measures the change of optical characteristics of thin films during vapour adsorption and desorption. All measurements are carried out at room temperature using an organic adsorptive.
EP with a plasma source allows study of the plasma resistance and modification of materials in active plasmas and plasma cleaning of different surfaces. IMEC has also developed novel applications such as pore sealing tests and Young's modulus extraction of low-k dielectrics using the EP technique.