Sub-Micron Linewidth Measurement based on Improved Image Sub-Pixel Edge Detection Algorithm

Recent advancement in micro- and nano-scale production and manufacturing objects in fields such as semiconductors and biomedicine have proved the great need for microstructural measurement techniques. This paper is dedicated to sub-micron linewidth measurements with the help of nano-motion modulated micro-nano-microscopic imaging systems. Based on the principle of subpixel technology, a combination of a Devernay image edge detector and orthogonal polynomial least squares fitting is proposed to replace the conventional single canny algorithm to identify edges at the subpixel accuracy level. Measurement results show that the developed algorithm provides higher accuracy in sub-micron linewidth measurement compared to the conventional algorithm.