Patent ID: 7253901

Claim:
A thin film analysis system for analyzing a test sample, the test sample comprising a thin film formed on a substrate and a contaminant layer formed on the thin film, the thin film analysis system comprising: an energy beam source for directing an energy beam at the contaminant layer during a localized cleaning operation, the energy beam being configured to heat only a small area of the contaminant layer until the small area is vaporized, thereby creating an opening in the contaminant layer; and a thin film analysis module for performing at least one of single wavelength ellipsometry (SWE), spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), reflectometry, grazing incidence x-ray reflectometry (GXR), x-ray fluorescence (XRF), electron microprobe analysis (EMP), non-contact-based electrical analysis, and contact-based electrical analysis on the thin film through the opening in the contaminant layer.