High-volume process monitoring of FEOL 22nm FinFET structures using an automated STEM

Ugurlu, Ozan; Strauss, M.; Dutrow, Gavin; Blackwood, Jeff; Routh, Brian; Senowitz, Corey; Plachinda, Paul; Alvis, Roger

doi:10.1117/12.2011594

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…Compared with traditional top‐down thinning techniques, the technique of inverted thinning is also a method to effectively mitigate curtaining, which changes the direction of ion beam polishing so that curtains do not appear at the area of interest on the lamella. [ 77–80 ] In this case, the metal contacts of the transistor are at the bottom, so the curtain from the contacts does not affect the structure of the transistor (usually a key feature of interest). However, the curtain effect in the contact of the metal layer still exists.…”

Section: Improved Fib–sem Sample Preparation Methods For Special Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Trends of In Situ Focused Ion Beam Technology: Toward Preparing Transmission Electron Microscopy Lamella and Devices at the Atomic Scale

Zhang

Wang

Dong

et al. 2022

Adv Elect Materials

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The increased complexity and scaling down of electronic devices lead to great challenges in extracting an interesting nanoscale area of the device for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) characterization. The traditional TEM sample preparation methods, such as electrolytic polishing, can not precisely process a specific area of the device. Focused ion beam (FIB) technology is an advanced in situ specimen preparation method for TEM. FIB can not only locate specific position and mill a TEM sample with the nanoscale resolution, but also manipulate the sample in a controlled manner in real time. With the development of electronic devices, variations, and optimizations of the FIB method for advanced devices with new structures have been reported. In this review, the TEM sample preparation methods for fin field‐effect transistor, high electron mobility transistor, enhanced dynamic random‐access memory, and 2D material‐based devices are discussed. Their advantages, disadvantages, and an overview of the applications are summarized. Based on current research, future research directions for enhancing the quality of TEM samples are suggested.

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Section: Improved Fib–sem Sample Preparation Methods For Special Devicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Trends of In Situ Focused Ion Beam Technology: Toward Preparing Transmission Electron Microscopy Lamella and Devices at the Atomic Scale

Zhang

Wang

Dong

et al. 2022

Adv Elect Materials

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“…Geologists and engineers in the oil and gas industry are very interested in the fine microscopic structure of containing the target from the wafer, transfer the thick section to a TEM grid, and thin the section to the required final thickness, including a final polishing step at low beam energy to remove surface damage created earlier in the process (Figure 2) [3]. In addition to extensive developments in automation, perfecting this capability required sophisticated improvements in the electron and ion columns.…”

Section: Tem Sample Preparationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Dual-Beam—Its Birth, Progress, and Future

Williams¹

2014

Micros. Today

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“…In this study, we present (S)TEM metrology characterization [5][6][7][8][9] using an automated Thermo Scientific TM Metrios TM (S)TEM on two typical process challenges. We introduce an internal machine learning-based modeling algorithm to address the challenge of measuring GAA structures with sacrificial SiGe etch process variations using a forksheet device.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Automated (S)TEM metrology characterization of gate-all-around and 3D NAND devices

Strauss

Hakala

et al. 2023

Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control XXXVII

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Fab and defect inspection workflows have reached an inflection point with the introduction of (GAA) and high aspect ratio memory structures. Few existing inspection and metrology tools can match the sub-surface imaging and analytical capability provided by (Scanning) Transmission Electron Microscopy (). Fully automated (S)TEM workflows are becoming a necessity for the industry to deliver high volume metrology reference data. This atomic scale data must be available with fast turnaround and must also be statistically valid to speed up learning cycles. In this study, we present (S)TEM metrology characterization of advanced GAA and devices by an automated MetriosTM TEM. We introduce an internal -based modeling algorithm to address the challenges of recognizing GAA devices with process variations and provide faster access to highly accurate TEM reference metrology data. We present automated characterization of beam-sensitive ONO layers, which is a key challenge in 3D NAND device metrology, enabled by a new generation of EDS detector with a high collection efficiency. We also present results on (S)TEM metrology during process monitoring of GAA devices with a higher level of TEM .

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High-volume process monitoring of FEOL 22nm FinFET structures using an automated STEM

Cited by 11 publications

References 0 publications

The Trends of In Situ Focused Ion Beam Technology: Toward Preparing Transmission Electron Microscopy Lamella and Devices at the Atomic Scale

The Trends of In Situ Focused Ion Beam Technology: Toward Preparing Transmission Electron Microscopy Lamella and Devices at the Atomic Scale

The Dual-Beam—Its Birth, Progress, and Future

Automated (S)TEM metrology characterization of gate-all-around and 3D NAND devices

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