US Patent 10145674 Measurement of semiconductor structures with capillary condensation

Methods and systems for performing optical measurements of geometric structures filled by a capillary condensation process are presented herein. Measurements are performed while the structures under measurement are treated with a flow of purge gas that includes a controlled amount of fill material. A portion of the fill material condenses onto the structures under measurement and fills openings in the structural features, spaces between structural features, small volumes such as notches, trenches, slits, contact holes, etc. The degree of saturation of vaporized material in the gaseous flow is adjusted based on the maximum feature size to be filled. In some examples, measurement data, such as spectroscopic data or image data, are collected when a structure is unfilled and when the structure is filled by capillary condensation. The collected data are combined to improve measurement performance.