Multifunctional microscope: design and construction of a full-field nonhomogeneous surface analysis metrology tool

A newly developed multi-functional microscope named Morphinscope and which possesses versatile metrology functions such as that of a confocal microscope, a photon tunneling microscope, a laser based phase-shifting interferometry microscope, and an ellipsometer is presented. This microscope can switch between its various measurement functions by simply rotating its turret, which makes it a low-cost choice for surface analysis. This instrument satisfies the design goal of providing the user with a versatile instrument that can undertake various metrology functions with only one instrument. This design point circumvents a major limitation facing today's surface analyses, i.e., once after a defect is identified, the effort in locating the same defect again with a different instrument is a difficult if not impossible task. As a phase shifting interferometer has in inherent drawback in reconstructing the phase map of a non-homogeneous surface, an ellipsometer can come to the rescue by measuring the complex index of refraction of the surface. More specifically, the Fresnel equation can be used to calculate the phase change of inhomogeneous surfaces due to reflection in order to retrieve the measured complex index of refraction. Combining this understanding, this Morphinscope has the possibility of retrieving the surface profile of a non-homogeneous media.