SBIR Phase I: Thickness Measurement System for Films with Rough Surfaces and Scattering Materials

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project can lead to a revolution in thin film measurement, which is an integral part of quality control and verification of component and device production. This can impact a broad range of industries, including semiconductors, transportation (such as airplane coatings and insulation), and polymer coatings in construction and building materials. The proposed technology will result in broader adoption of non-destructive measurement, cost reductions via reduced material usage, increased in-line measurement techniques. The technology and system will offer flexible and mobile test solutions in comparison to the current immobile, expensive systems that have a high degree of operational constraints. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop an optical measurement system designed to perform film thickness determination on layers that are constructed with turbid media and surface conditions that are far from optically smooth. The film thickness will be measured in a non-contact, non-destructive manner, with potential for real-time assessment. The material properties of the films are the primary reason for the constraints on film thickness measurement by the currently available measurement devices. The accurate film-thickness and conformal coating thickness measurement are made possible by a proprietary novel noise reduction technique which enables the system to make accurate measurement from interference images with significant speckle and scattering noise. The goal of this research program is to augment this technology into a portable system that can provide quality control without requirements for steady state conditions and can be applied in a variety of manufacturing processes.