With the constant decrease of semiconductor device dimensions, line edge roughness
(LER) becomes one of the most important sources of device variability and needs to be
controlled below 2 nm for the future technological nodes of the semiconductor roadmap.
LER control at the nanometer scale requires accurate measurements. We introduce a
technique for LER measurement based upon the atomic force microscope (AFM). In this
technique, the sample is tilted at about 45 and feature sidewalls are scanned along their …