Connectivity of organic matter pores in the Lower Silurian Longmaxi Formation shale, Sichuan Basin, Southern China: Analyses from helium ion microscope and focused ion beam scanning electron microscope
Abstract
The scanning electron microscope (SEM) based nanoprobing technique has established itself as an indispensable failure analysis (FA) technique as technology nodes continue to shrink according to Moore's Law. Although it has its share of disadvantages, SEM-based nanoprobing is often preferred because of its advantages over other FA techniques such as focused ion beam in fault isolation. This paper presents the effectiveness of the nanoprobing technique in isolating nanoscale defects in three different cases in sub-100 nm devices: soft-fail defect caused by asymmetrical nickel silicide (NiSi) formation, hard-fail defect caused by abnormal NiSi formation leading to contact-poly short, and isolation of resistive contact in a large electrical test structure. Results suggest that the SEM based nanoprobing technique is particularly useful in identifying causes of soft-fails and plays a very important role in investigating the cause of hard-fails and improving device yield.
Abstract
The characteristics of an organic low-k dielectric during investigation by focused ion beam (FIB) are discussed for the different FIB application modes: cross-section imaging, specimen preparation for transmission electron microscopy, and via milling for device modification. It is shown that the material is more stable under the ion beam than under the electron beam in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) or in the transmission electron microscope (TEM). The milling of the material by H2O vapor assistance is strongly enhanced. Also by applying XeF2 etching an enhanced milling rate can be obtained so that both the polymer layer and the intermediate oxides can be etched in a single step.
Abstract
On mechanically polished cross-sections, getting a surface adequate for high-resolution imaging is sometimes beyond the analyst’s ability, due to material smearing, chipping, polishing media chemical attack, etc.. A method has been developed to enable the focused ion beam (FIB) to re-face the section block and achieve a surface that can be imaged at high resolution in the scanning electron microscope (SEM).
Abstract
Passive Voltage Contrast (PVC) in a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) or a Focused Ion Beam (FIB) is a key Failure Analysis (FA) technique to highlight a leaky gate. The introduction of Silicon On Insulator (SOI) substrate in our recent automotive analog mixed-signal technology highlighted a new challenge: the Bottom Oxide (BOX) layer, by isolating the Silicon Active Area from the bulk made PVC technique less effective in finding leaky MOSFET gates. A solution involving sample preparation performed with standard FA toolset is proposed to enhance PVC on SOI substrate.
