Electron microscopy in semiconductor inspection

Nakamae, Koji

doi:10.1088/1361-6501/abd96d

Cited by 24 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 74 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The wetting properties of surfaces can be tuned by the judicious choice of the material, modifying the surface chemistry and controlling the surface morphology (i.e., surface roughness and asperities which trap air). The characterization of the surface morphology is typically done using either a surface optical or mechanical profilometer, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) [ 142 ], and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) [ 143 ]. To achieve greater lateral and vertical resolution, atomic force microscopy (AFM) [ 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 ] is commonly used with the added advantage that samples do not need to be conductive.…”

Section: Characterization Of the Static And Dynamic Wetting Propertie...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Advances in the Fabrication and Characterization of Superhydrophobic Surfaces Inspired by the Lotus Leaf

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Nature has proven to be a valuable resource in inspiring the development of novel technologies. The field of biomimetics emerged centuries ago as scientists sought to understand the fundamental science behind the extraordinary properties of organisms in nature and applied the new science to mimic a desired property using various materials. Through evolution, living organisms have developed specialized surface coatings and chemistries with extraordinary properties such as the superhydrophobicity, which has been exploited to maintain structural integrity and for survival in harsh environments. The Lotus leaf is one of many examples which has inspired the fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces. In this review, the fundamental science, supported by rigorous derivations from a thermodynamic perspective, is presented to explain the origin of superhydrophobicity. Based on theory, the interplay between surface morphology and chemistry is shown to influence surface wetting properties of materials. Various fabrication techniques to create superhydrophobic surfaces are also presented along with the corresponding advantages and/or disadvantages. Recent advances in the characterization techniques used to quantify the superhydrophobicity of surfaces is presented with respect to accuracy and sensitivity of the measurements. Challenges associated with the fabrication and characterization of superhydrophobic surfaces are also discussed.

show abstract

Section: Characterization Of the Static And Dynamic Wetting Propertie...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Advances in the Fabrication and Characterization of Superhydrophobic Surfaces Inspired by the Lotus Leaf

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The 28-nm technology node gained popularity in 2013, and the introduction of UV lithography gave rise to the 7 nm technology node in 2019 (Nakamae, 2021). Smaller feature sizes place greater demands on new lithography processes and advanced quality inspection methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a typical example, the integrated circuit (IC) industry has been developing continuously according to the well‐known Moore's law in the past few decades (Orji et al, 2018). The 28‐nm technology node gained popularity in 2013, and the introduction of UV lithography gave rise to the 7 nm technology node in 2019 (Nakamae, 2021). Smaller feature sizes place greater demands on new lithography processes and advanced quality inspection methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large‐scale time‐lapse scanning electron microscopy image mosaic using a smooth stitching strategy

Zhao

Zhang

Liu

et al. 2023

Microscopy Res & Technique

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Due to the trade‐off between the field of view and resolution of various microscopes, obtaining a wide‐view panoramic image through high‐resolution image tiles is frequently encountered and demanded in numerous applications. Here, we propose an automatic image mosaic strategy for sequential 2D time‐lapse scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. This method can accurately compute pairwise translations among serial image tiles with indeterminate overlapping areas. The detection and matching of feature points are limited by geographical coordinates, thus avoiding accidental mismatching. Moreover, the nonlinear deformation of the mosaic part is also taken into account. A smooth stitching field is utilized to gradually transform the perspective transformation in overlapping regions into the linear transformation in non‐overlapping regions. Experimental results demonstrate that better image stitching accuracy can be achieved compared with some other image mosaic algorithms. Such a method has potential applications in high‐resolution large‐area analysis using serial microscopy images. Research Highlights An automatic image mosaic strategy for processing sequential scanning electron microscopy images is proposed. A smooth stitching field is applied in the image mosaic. Improved stitching accuracy is achieved compared with other conventional mosaic methods.

show abstract

“…Presently, this is difficult to achieve noninvasively without causing damage to the circuit or surrounding packaginga factor especially important for biological tissue. Existing methods for integrated circuit inspection such as laser voltage probing [2], electron microscopy [3], THz spectroscopy [4] and electrophysiology probes [5] or fluorescence microscopy [6] for biosystems require unimpeded local access. Furthermore, these existing techniques are all active, requiring direct interaction with the target system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High speed microcircuit and synthetic biosignal widefield imaging using nitrogen vacancies in diamond

Webb,

Troise,

Hansen

et al. 2021

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The ability to measure the passage of electrical current with high spatial and temporal resolution is vital for applications ranging from inspection of microscopic electronic circuits to biosensing. Being able to image such signals passively and remotely at the same time is of high importance, to measure without invasive disruption of the system under study or the signal itself. A new approach to achieve this utilises point defects in solid state materials, in particular nitrogen vacancy (NV) centres in diamond. Acting as a high density array of independent sensors, addressable opto-electronically and highly sensitive to factors including temperature and magnetic field, these are ideally suited to microscopic widefield imaging. In this work we demonstrate such imaging of signals from a microscopic lithographically patterned circuit at the micrometer scale. Using a new type of lock-in amplifier camera, we demonstrate sub-millisecond (up to 3500 frames-per-second) spatially resolved recovery of AC and pulsed electrical current signals, without aliasing or undersampling. Finally, we demonstrate as a proof of principle the recovery of synthetic signals replicating the exact form of signals in a biological neural network: the hippocampus of a mouse.

show abstract

Electron microscopy in semiconductor inspection

Cited by 24 publications

References 74 publications

Advances in the Fabrication and Characterization of Superhydrophobic Surfaces Inspired by the Lotus Leaf

Advances in the Fabrication and Characterization of Superhydrophobic Surfaces Inspired by the Lotus Leaf

Large‐scale time‐lapse scanning electron microscopy image mosaic using a smooth stitching strategy

High speed microcircuit and synthetic biosignal widefield imaging using nitrogen vacancies in diamond

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About