Chemical nano-tomography of microbial cells in their natural, hydrated state provides direct evidence of metabolic and chemical processes. Cells of the nitrate-reducing Acidovorax sp. strain BoFeN1 were cultured in the presence of ferrous iron. Bacterial reduction of nitrate causes precipitation of Fe(III)-(oxyhydr)oxides in the periplasm and in direct vicinity of the cells. Nanoliter aliquots of cell-suspension were injected into custom-designed sample holders wherein polyimide membranes collapse around the cells by capillary forces. The immobilized, hydrated cells were analyzed by synchrotron-based scanning transmission X-ray microscopy in combination with angle-scan tomography. This approach provides three-dimensional (3D) maps of the chemical species in the sample by employing their intrinsic near-edge X-ray absorption properties. The cells were scanned through the focus of a monochromatic soft X-ray beam at different, chemically specific X-ray energies to acquire projection images of their corresponding X-ray absorbance. Based on these images, chemical composition maps were then calculated. Acquiring projections at different tilt angles allowed for 3D reconstruction of the chemical composition. Our approach allows for 3D chemical mapping of hydrated samples and thus provides direct evidence for the localization of metabolic and chemical processes in situ.
A novel wafer temperature and emissivity measurement technique for rapid thermal processing (RTP) is presented. The ‘Ripple Technique’ takes advantage of heating lamp AC ripple as the signature of the reflected component of the radiation from the wafer surface. This application of Optical Fiber Thermometry (OFT) allows high speed measurement of wafer surface temperatures and emissivities. This ‘Ripple Technique’ is discussed in theoretical and practical terms with wafer data presented. Results of both temperature and emissivity measurements are presented for RTP conditions with bare silicon wafers and filmed wafers.
This paper reviews the current status and problems of optical fiber temperature measurements for RTP and single wafer processing. Included is a discussion of a range of fiber based options available and currently being utilized today. The advantages and disadvantages of the options are presented. In addition new data from the use of the Ripple Technique pyrometer is presented. Included are data from AT&T (Lucent Technologies) ripple pyrometer development. Lucent Technologies is evaluating and improving the ripple pyrometer on a number of different style production RTP furnaces. Recent advances in signal processing for very low level photo diode currents in the range of 10 e-14 amps, will also be presented.
The need for increasingly tighter process control is eminently apparent as semiconductor device dimensions become smaller and wafers larger. Today "Thermal Budgets" are shrinking and ramp rates are increasing throughout wafer processing. Wafer temperature is perhaps the most universally critical process variable in front-end integrated circuits (IC) manufacturing. The use of pyrometry and optical lightpipes continues to gain widespread acceptance as the standard temperature control method in many processes. Lightpipes are used for controlling temperature in chemical vapor deposition (CVD), rapid thermal processing (RTP), epitaxial film growth (EPI) and physical vapor deposition (PVD). Optical thermometry offers numerous advantages over other forms of wafer temperature measurement. This paper presents the current strengths and limitations in optical wafer temperature measurement. Many factors continue to drive the measurement technology. As IC junctions become shallower, thermal budget concerns drive process temperatures down. Processing time and ramp rates continue to shorten in particular for implant anneals. Increasingly, process control requires complete thermal histories of wafers throughout IC manufacturing. These factors and new materials (copper and low-dielectrics) push tool manufactures and pyrometer vendors toward lower temperatures while still requiring high sensitivity, and accuracy. The accuracy of most in-situ optical temperature measurement continues to be dominated by uncertainty in wafer emissivity. Factors that limit accuracy, e.g., from wafer to wafer and from tool to tool, and advances in the technology are discussed.
A two-channel optical-fiber pyrometry technique for simultaneous measurement of thermal radiance and emittance was used to measure and control the temperature of silicon wafers heated by quartz-halogen-tungsten lamps in various rapid-thermal processors, including an A.G. Associates Heatpulse. The ripple method dynamically determines emittances by sensing time-dependent components in radiation from the lamps and radiation reflected by the wafer surface. Wafers were coated with films of various textures and patterns to test the technique over a range of surface emittances spanning about an order of magnitude. Temperature accuracies of at least ±5°C are achievable from 650°C to 1050°C, and above, for pyrometry at lμm wavelength.
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