Precise nanoscale temperature mapping in operational microelectronic devices by use of a phase change material

Abstract

The microelectronics industry is pushing the fundamental limit on the physical size of individual elements to produce faster and more powerful integrated chips. These chips have nanoscale features that dissipate power resulting in nanoscale hotspots leading to device failures. To understand the reliability impact of the hotspots, the device needs to be tested under the actual operating conditions. Therefore, the development of high-resolution thermometry techniques is required to understand the heat dissipation processes during the device operation. Recently, several thermometry techniques have been proposed, such as radiation thermometry, thermocouple based contact thermometry, scanning thermal microscopy, scanning transmission electron microscopy and transition based threshold thermometers. However, most of these techniques have limitations including the need for extensive calibration, perturbation of the actual device temperature, low throughput, and the use of ultra-high vacuum. Here, we present a facile technique, which uses a thin film contact thermometer based on the phase change material $$Ge_2 Sb_2 Te_5$$ G e 2 S b 2 T e 5 , to precisely map thermal contours from the nanoscale to the microscale. $$Ge_2 Sb_2 Te_5$$ G e 2 S b 2 T e 5 undergoes a crystalline transition at $$\hbox {T}_{{g}}$$ T g with large changes in its electric conductivity, optical reflectivity and density. Using this approach, we map the surface temperature of a nanowire and an embedded micro-heater on the same chip where the scales of the temperature contours differ by three orders of magnitude. The spatial resolution can be as high as 20 nanometers thanks to the continuous nature of the thin film.

Mapping Elevated Temperatures with a Micrometer Resolution Using the Luminescence of Chemically Stable Upconversion Nanoparticles

“…Thermometry on the microscopic scale is an essential characterization tool for the development of nano- and microelectronic devices. − However, conventional thermometers like thermocouples are often unable to reliably measure the temperature on this length scale due to their size. An additional drawback is the requirement of direct contact between the sensing element and the temperature-registration instrument.…”

Temperature imaging inside fluid devices using a ratiometric near infrared (NIR-II/III) fluorescent Y2O3: Nd3+, Yb3+, Er3+ nanothermometer

“…In particular, the technical requirements for temperature measurements are increasing in various fields including photonics, nanoelectronics, nanofluidics, and biomedicine [ 6 ]; these requirements are expanding to the extent that conventional contact-type measurement methods such as thermocouples cannot satisfy the required submicron-scale spatial resolution. Fluorescence temperature measurements can be performed using contactless thermometry in microelectronics [ 7 – 10 ], microfluidic devices [ 9 , 11 – 14 ], and catalytic systems [ 15 ]. Contactless temperature measurements using fluorescent particles have attracted considerable attention in the biomedical field for physiological temperature change measurements [ 16 , 17 ].…”

Preliminary Investigation of Thermoelectric Electromotive Force Oscillation of NiCr/NiSi Thin Film Thermocouple in Dynamic Calibration

“…[1][2][3][4][5] Many DOI: 10.1002/smll.202308002 researchers have focused on the spatial resolution of TFTCs by the static calibration, such as TFTCs array, matrix, and so on. [6][7][8][9][10] While, the temporal resolution of TFTCs hasn't been well investigated by the dynamic calibration, such as the thermoelectric electromotive force (TEF) oscillation of TFTCs. [11][12][13][14][15] In practice, TEF oscillation of TFTCs will result in the distortion of output signal, such as response time and Seebeck coefficient (S) in pulse type heating and cooling process.…”