Large area, high resolution analysis of surface roughness of semiconductors using interference microscopy

Interference microscopy is a useful analytical tool for studying the surface morphology of semiconductors. Surface roughness from nanometres to many microns can be measured rapidly and non-destructively, making it possible to analyse fragile materials. Blue–violet illumination gives submicron lateral resolution and a large field size can be achieved using sample scanning and image ‘stitching’. Some of these new developments in interference microscopy are presented and applied to the optimisation of laser annealing of a-Si layers for flat panel displays, and to the analysis of surface morphology of HgI2 and PbI2 for nuclear detectors.