Nanoscale elemental imaging of semiconductor materials using focused ion beam secondary ion mass spectrometry

Abstract

Articles you may be interested inFocused ion beam processing of organic crystal ( TMTSF ) 2 PF 6 . A combined conducting probe atomic force microscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry study Negative cesium sputter ion source for generating cluster primary ion beams for secondary ion mass spectrometry analysisThe semiconductor industry demands elemental information from ever smaller regions. The sensitivity of secondary ion mass spectrometry, coupled with the lateral resolution of a focused ion beam, can provide nanoscale elemental data that are competitive with that from other analytical techniques. Ion images of the sidewalls in repetitive semiconductor features tilted to present a large surface area have shown boron contamination after an etch process. The boron is removed by a specific cleaning step. Spot defect analysis was enhanced by the use of mass spectra that provide information on a range of elements before the defect is removed by sputtering. Ion implanted samples were analyzed in cross section and the implant shape detected. Summation of the secondary ion counts in the implant cross section over a few micrometers resulted in detection limits below 0.1 at. %. Implantation profiles have been detected for Al, Cr, Na, Li, and K without the aid of secondary ion enhancing species, such as oxygen or cesium.

The Correlation between Ion Beam/Material Interactions and Practical FIB Specimen Preparation

“…The role of FIB instruments as such a tool is rapidly becoming well established. The FIB has been successfully used as a standalone analytical instrument~Chabala et Campbell and Soden, 1998;Phaneuf et al, 1998;Stevie et al, 1998b! as well as a tool for the preparation of specimens for subsequent analysis by other instruments~Stevie et al, 1999!.…”

Nuclear emission microscopies

“…We estimate the latter to be 10 to 20 run in diameter. This effective resolution is similar to the practical limit in focused ion beam SIMS [17]. HCI-SIMS with coincidence analysis has been applied to the characterization of processing steps in semiconductor manufacturing.…”

Yield enhancement effect of low‐energy O2+ ion bombardment in Ga focused ion beam SIMS

“…The sputtering yield of Si by the O 2 C ion bombardment was measured for O 2 C energies of 0.7-5 keV using a B-doped Si(100) wafer. The sputtering yields were calculated from the oxygen ion dose per area, and the sputtering depths were measured using a profilometer (Sloan, Dektak III).…”

“…However, the secondary ion yield for Ga FIB is much lower than those for other widely used primary ions such as O 2 C and Cs C . The positive secondary ion yield for the Ga C primary ion has been reported to be lower than that of the O 2 C primary ion by two or three orders of magnitude.…”

“…The positive secondary ion yield for the Ga C primary ion has been reported to be lower than that of the O 2 C primary ion by two or three orders of magnitude. 1,2 On the other hand, it is well known that ambient oxygen enhances the positive ion yield in SIMS analysis. 3 -5 The flow of oxygen gas around the analysis area (the so-called O 2 -leak method) is one of the popular methods utilized to achieve this enhancement effect.…”