Patent ID: 6492827
Filing Date: 2002-12-10
Classification: G01R

Abstract:
An apparatus for measuring at least one electrical property of a semiconductor wafer, the apparatus comprising:an assembly for supporting a semiconductor wafer; a probe having an elastically deformable conductive tip for contacting a front surface of the semiconductor wafer, where the front surface is comprised of (i) a dielectric formed on a front surface of semiconducting material which forms the semiconductor wafer or (ii) the semiconducting material; means for applying an electrical stimulus to the elastically deformable conductive tip; and means for measuring a response to the electrical stimulus and for determining from the response at least one electrical property of the dielectric and/or the semiconducting material, wherein, when the elastically deformable conductive tip contacts the semiconducting material, the applying means applies a capacitance-voltage (CV) or current-voltage (IV) type electrical stimulus and the measuring means measures the respective CV or IV response of the semiconducting material to the electrical stimulus.