Tencor Alphastep-500

Trainers

Features

• measurement of vertical features from <100Å - 0.3mm with vertical resolution of 1Å or 25Å
• displays english or metric units
• 5,000 points per scan
• ablility to level scans
• supports samples up to 6" wide and up to 15mm thick

Operating Instructions

1. Press F1 to edit the recipe. You can either load a recipe or just set the parameters you want to use. Press ESC to leave the recipe editor. You can return to or switch between the recipe editor and profile display window by pressing ESC any time.
2. Press the X-Y key. After a few seconds, the stage will be displayed on the screen. It may be severely out of focus at this point.
3. Press the up arrow on the keyboard. This will make the stylus move out of the way if it isn't already. It is important to do this every time before you load or unload your sample so as not to damage the stylus.
4. Use the knobs under the stage to move the stage towards you.
5. Put the sample you want to examine on the stage.
6. Move the sample under the microscope. The area under the microscope is illuminated.
7. You may need to press the down arrow key to raise the stage to get it into focus. Once it is in focus, press the up arrow key breifly to raise the stylus. Do not move the stage with the stylus down.
8. Move the stage into position using the knobs under the stage. You can rotate the stage too (just turn it by hand).
9. After you have the stage lined up, press the start key. The stylus will come down, move across the sample, then go up. Then the results will be displayed.
10. You may want to change the recipe settings or move the sample using the instructions above to get the results you want.
11. Usually, the scan will not be level. You can level it by pressing F11 (LEVEL), and using the trackball to move the two leveling lines to two points on the graph that should be at the same height. You can switch lines by pressing space. When you have the lines in position, press LEVEL again. The display will be leveled.
12. You can use the trackball to move two vertical lines on the screen. Use the space key to select which line you are moving. The height difference between the lines is displayed on the left side of the display.
13. For any of the four cursors (or vertical lines, two for leveling and two for measurement), you can use the up arrow to split the line into two and the computer will display the average results in the area confined by the two lines on the left side of the screen; you can reduce the two lines to one by holding the down arrow.
14. You can zoom in on a given area by pressing F12 (ZOOM), using the trackball to move the box over the area you want to zoom in on and pressing F12 again.
15. If you want a printed copy of the screen, press PRINT SCREEN. After a few seconds, the printer will start printing.