Marking and measuring of in-plane directions

The Omega Scan is able to determine the complete crystal orientation in one measurement. Therefore the in-plane directions can be identified directly.  This is a useful feature for marking in-plane directions or checking the orientation of flats or notches.

During implantation and photolithography of wafers the flat or notch serves as orientation mark. After processing, the wafer carries hundreds of chips that need to be separated by cleaving. The chips must be aligned correctly to a lattice plane of easy cleaving in the wafer. Therefore checking of the position of the flat or notch is necessary. For determining the flat or notch position the in-plane components must be measured.

The Omega Scan is able to determine the complete crystal orientation in one measurement. Therefore the in-plane directions can be identified directly. Using the Theta Scan method is either complicated or imprecise.

The instrument can turn any in-plane direction into a specific position defined by the user by rotating the turntable. This simplifies the task to apply a marking to a specific in-plane direction, for example when a flat orientation must be defined. For high-throughput applications, automatic measurement solutions exist.