Phase control of ellipsometric interferometer for nanometric positioning system

Development in industry is asking for improved resolution and higher accuracy in dimensional metrology. In this paper, we proposed a control displacement method based on a polarization ellipsometirc interferometer and phase-locked loop technique. The proposed principle was set up. The experimental results of step and step displacements with a step value of 5 nm were presented. We also analyzed the resolution, the potential minimal displacement of the established system. The results show that the position error induced by the ellipticty deviation of the light beam becomes negligible thanks to our signal processing circuit with high-order filter. This method could be useful for many applications in nano dimensional metrology and semiconductor industry.