Transmission electron microscopy sample preparation method for micrometer-sized powder particles using focused ion beam

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can be utilized to identify some specific microstructures of metals and alloys. However, it is very difficult to precisely prepare a TEM specimen from the powder particles with several micrometers. There are more or less drawbacks in conventional preparation method. This paper describes a novel method to prepare specific specimens from the powder particles with several micrometers for TEM study. A TEM specimen approximately 5μm diameter was successfully prepared to electron transparency, which extracted from a 5μm diameter powder particle. The selected-area electron diffraction pattern (SAED) analysis was carried out.

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TEM Sample Preparation Tricks for Advanced DRAMs

ISTFA 2015: Conference Proceedings from the 41st International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis ◽

10.31399/asm.cp.istfa2015p0318 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Ching Shan Sung ◽

Hsiu Ting Lee ◽

Jian Shing Luo

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽

Sample Preparation ◽

Integrated Circuit ◽

Focused Ion Beam ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Tem Analysis ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

Characterization Of Materials

Abstract Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) plays an important role in the structural analysis and characterization of materials for process evaluation and failure analysis in the integrated circuit (IC) industry as device shrinkage continues. It is well known that a high quality TEM sample is one of the keys which enables to facilitate successful TEM analysis. This paper demonstrates a few examples to show the tricks on positioning, protection deposition, sample dicing, and focused ion beam milling of the TEM sample preparation for advanced DRAMs. The micro-structures of the devices and samples architectures were observed by using cross sectional transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and optical microscopy. Following these tricks can help readers to prepare TEM samples with higher quality and efficiency.

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To Eliminate Curtain Effect of FIB TEM Samples by a Combination of Sample Dicing and Backside Milling

ISTFA 2014: Conference Proceedings from the 40th International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis ◽

10.31399/asm.cp.istfa2014p0400 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Jian-Shing Luo ◽

Hsiu Ting Lee

Keyword(s):

Sample Preparation ◽

Focused Ion Beam ◽

Preparation Method ◽

Low Cost ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Sample Preparation Method ◽

Site Specific ◽

Dual Beam ◽

Transmission Electron

Abstract Several methods are used to invert samples 180 deg in a dual beam focused ion beam (FIB) system for backside milling by a specific in-situ lift out system or stages. However, most of those methods occupied too much time on FIB systems or requires a specific in-situ lift out system. This paper provides a novel transmission electron microscopy (TEM) sample preparation method to eliminate the curtain effect completely by a combination of backside milling and sample dicing with low cost and less FIB time. The procedures of the TEM pre-thinned sample preparation method using a combination of sample dicing and backside milling are described step by step. From the analysis results, the method has applied successfully to eliminate the curtain effect of dual beam FIB TEM samples for both random and site specific addresses.

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A Methodology to Reduce Ion Beam Induced Damage in TEM Specimens Prepared by FIB

ISTFA 2002: Conference Proceedings from the 28th International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis ◽

10.31399/asm.cp.istfa2002p0313 ◽

2002 ◽

Author(s):

Chin Kai Liu ◽

Chi Jen. Chen ◽

Jeh Yan.Chiou ◽

David Su

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽

Sample Preparation ◽

Integrated Circuit ◽

Focused Ion Beam ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Specimen Preparation ◽

Tem Analysis ◽

Sensitive Issue ◽

Transmission Electron

Abstract Focused ion beam (FIB) has become a useful tool in the Integrated Circuit (IC) industry, It is playing an important role in Failure Analysis (FA), circuit repair and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) specimen preparation. In particular, preparation of TEM samples using FIB has become popular within the last ten years [1]; the progress in this field is well documented. Given the usefulness of FIB, “Artifact” however is a very sensitive issue in TEM inspections. The ability to identify those artifacts in TEM analysis is an important as to understanding the significance of pictures In this paper, we will describe how to measure the damages introduced by FIB sample preparation and introduce a better way to prevent such kind of artifacts.

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