Alpha Step IQ Contact

A contact profilometer is a metrology instrument that uses a physical stylus to trace a surface profile and quantify height differences across features. In semiconductor work, this class of tool is used to characterize topography and support process control.

A contact profilometer measures a surface by moving a stylus across the sample and converting vertical motion into a profile of surface height versus position. That profile can be used to evaluate steps, film thickness by step height, and other topographic features.

In a metrology workflow, the instrument is used as a direct measurement tool rather than a noncontact optical imager. The contact probe follows the surface mechanically, which makes the class suited to detailed line scans over localized areas.

This type of instrument is placed in the metrology and inspection flow, where it supports checks after deposition, patterning, etch, planarization, or other steps that change surface topography. It is used to verify feature heights and surface step changes before the process moves onward.

Because it measures physical topography directly, it is typically used on sampled areas rather than as an in-line process tool. The resulting measurements help qualify process results and monitor variation across wafers or other substrates.

This class of instrument is used for semiconductor thin-film and surface-topography measurement, including step height checks, film thickness by step measurement, and evaluation of patterned structures.

It is also used in broader precision manufacturing contexts where localized surface profile measurement is needed for process control and inspection.