Articles you may be interested inModeling and simulation of heterojunction crystalline silicon solar cells with a nanocrystalline cubic silicon carbide emitter J. Appl. Phys. 109, 054507 (2011); 10.1063/1.3552888 High-quality nanocrystalline cubic silicon carbide emitter for crystalline silicon heterojunction solar cells Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, 023504 (2010); 10.1063/1.3460917Transition metal carbide field emitters for field-emitter array devices and high current applications

Good control over beam and chemistry conditions are required to enable uniform delayering of advanced process technologies in the FIB. The introduction of newer, thinner and more beam sensitive materials have made delayering more complicated. We shall introduce a new chemistry for device delayering and present results from both Ga and Xe ion beams showing its improvement over existing chemistries.

We report on using the voltage-contrast mechanism of a scanning electron microscope to probe electrical waveforms on FinFET transistors that are located within active integrated circuits. The FinFET devices are accessed from the backside of the integrated circuit, enabling electrical activity on any transistor within a working device to be probed. We demonstrate gigahertz-bandwidth probing at 10-nm resolution using a stroboscopic pulsed electron source.

Driven by the analytical needs of microelectronics, magnetic media and micro-fabrication industries, focused ion beam (FIB) systems are now capable of milling and manipulating samples for the analysis of microstructure features having dimensions of 180 nm or less, A technique for locating and extracting site specific specimens for examination by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been developed. An identified feature can be located and precisely milled with an FIB system from two sides to prepare an ultrathin sample, and then extracted from the region with a glass rod micromanipulator onto a grid for TEM analysis. This specimen preparation method has been applied to semiconductor failure analysis and to the study of metallic and ceramic microsiructures with irregular topographies and complex mufti-layered components.

Since becoming popular more than a decade ago, low vacuum scanning electron microscopes (SEM) have continued to evolve. The latest systems offer uncompromised performance over an unprecedented range of sample chamber vacuum conditions. Instruments are now available that provide near-nanometer resolution in all vacuum modes and the ability to operate at pressures as high as 4000 Pascals (~30 Torr). Low vacuum operation eliminates much of the sample preparation required for conventional (high vacuum) SEM. Insulating samples can be imaged without conductive coatings. Wet, dirty, outgassing samples can be examined without drying and fixing. Systems can also be configured with a wide range of ancillary capabilities for imaging, analysis, and sample manipulation, including advanced secondary, backscattered, and transmitted electron detection, X-ray spectrometry, electron backscatter diffraction, and focused ion beam (FIB) manipulation. The current generation of systems combine speed, flexibility, repeatability, and ease of use, making them the ideal solution for any laboratory that must satisfy a wide range of imaging and analytical demands.