Profilometer Tencor P-20H

December 8, 2022

Tool Owner

Joseph Jacob (joseph.jacob@utah.edu)

Walk-up Tool (no reservation needed)

The P-20 is a stylus profilometer, which uses a sharp stylus (2 m tip radius) to quantitatively measure surface topography. The stylus is held at a fixed position, and the sample is scanned on a precision translation stage to make measurements. This system is very commonly used for measuring the thickness of thin films (using a patterned step), wafer bow for film stress analysis, and for quantitative surface roughness across large areas. The system is capable of 3-D surface imaging.


S/N: 09940111

Instrument Capabilities

Measurement Range

  • 2 µm stylus tip radius
  • 60 stylus cone angle
  • 325 µm vertical range
    • Capacitive sensor element
  • Precision motion stage
  • Roughly nm scale vertical resolution
  • The P-20 has a 8 inch stage movement

Acquired Data

  • Quantitative surface topography
  • RMS roughness
  • Film thickness (across a step)
  • Wafer bow
  • Line scans (2-D)
  • Area scans (3-D)