A New Marking Technique for the Site-Specific Target in Focused Ion Beam-Based Transmission Electron Microscopy Thin Foil Preparation

It has been shown that a focused ion beam (FIB) instrument may be used to prepare site specific cross-sectioned specimens to within < 0.1 μm for both scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM, respectively). FIB specimen preparation has been used almost exclusively in the microelectronics industry. Recently, FIB specimen preparation has been utilized for other materials systems and applications.A cross-sectioned SEM specimen is produced by sputtering away a trench of material from near the region of interest. Large amounts of material are sputtered using large ion beam diameters (e.g., l00’s nm) and high beam current (e.g., l000’s pA), while the final sputtering operations are achieved using smaller beam diameters (e.g., < 10 nm) and lower beam current (e.g., 10’s of pA). The SEM specimen may then be etched to reveal particular microstructural features of interest. A low magnification SEM image of a multi-layered device prepared for cross-section analysis by the FIB method is shown in FIG. 1.

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Site-Specific Specimen Preparation by Focused Ion Beam Milling for Transmission Electron Microscopy of Metal Matrix Composites

Microscopy and Microanalysis ◽

10.1017/s1431927604040413 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 10 (02) ◽

pp. 311-316 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Philippe Gasser ◽

Ulrich E. Klotz ◽

Fazal A. Khalid ◽

Olivier Beffort

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽

Metal Matrix Composites ◽

Metal Matrix ◽

Focused Ion Beam ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Specimen Preparation ◽

Matrix Composites ◽

Site Specific ◽

Transmission Electron

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Site Specific TEM Specimen Preparation using an FIB/TEM System

Microscopy and Microanalysis ◽

10.1017/s1431927600035042 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 6 (S2) ◽

pp. 510-511 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

T. Kamino ◽

T. Yaguchi ◽

T. Ohnishi ◽

K. Umemura ◽

S. Tomimatsu

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽

Focused Ion Beam ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Specimen Preparation ◽

Site Specific ◽

Specimen Holder ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

Wide Range ◽

Scanning Transmission

The focused ion beam(FIB) technique, developed for the microelectronics industry has become a major method for site specific transmission electron microscopy(TEM) specimen preparation in a wide range of materials[l]. The FIB lift-out technique has improved the specimen preparation procedures by removing complicated initial fabrication required prior to the FIB milling[2]. However, conventional FIB techniques are still having increased difficulty in meeting failure analysis needs from high technology industries such as microelectronics.We have developed a site specific TEM specimen preparation method using a combination of an FIB instrument and an intermediate voltage TEM equipped with a scanning attachment [3]. In this method, the specimen is mounted on an FIB-TEM compatible specimen holder, so that localization of the specific site can be carried out in the FIB and TEM using the same holder. The scanning electron imaging mode may be used to observe surface structures of the milled area, and the scanning transmission electron microscopy(STEM) mode may be used to observe structures inside of the milled surface.

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The Focused Ion Beam Fold-Out: Sample Preparation Method for Transmission Electron Microscopy

Microscopy and Microanalysis ◽

10.1017/s1431927609990365 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 15 (6) ◽

pp. 558-563 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Herman Carlo Floresca ◽

Jangbae Jeon ◽

Jinguo G. Wang ◽

Moon J. Kim

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽

Sample Preparation ◽

Focused Ion Beam ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Ion Milling ◽

Plan View ◽

Site Specific ◽

Area Of Interest ◽

Transmission Electron

AbstractWe have developed the focused ion beam (FIB) fold-out technique, for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) sample preparation in which there is no fine polishing or dimpling, thus saving turnaround time. It does not require a nanomanipulator yet is still site specific. The sample wafer is cut to shape, polished down, and then placed in a FIB system. A tab containing the area of interest is created by ion milling and then “folded out” from the bulk sample. This method also allows a plan-view of the sample by removing material below the wafer's surface film or device near the polished edge. In the final step, the sample is thinned to electron transparency, ready to be analyzed in the TEM. With both a cross section and plan-view, our technique gives microscopists a powerful tool in analyzing multiple zone axes in one TEM session. The nature of the polished sample edge also includes the ability to sample many areas, allowing the user to examine a very large device or sample. More importantly, this technique could make multiple site-specific e-beam transparent specimens in one polished sample, which is difficult to do when prepared by other methods.

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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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Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) Specimen Preparation Technique using Focused Ion Beam (FIB): Application to Material Characterization of Chemical Vapor Deposition of Tungsten (W) and Tungsten Silicides (WSix)

ISTFA 1997: Conference Proceedings from the 23rd International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis ◽

10.31399/asm.cp.istfa1997p0237 ◽

1997 ◽

Author(s):

K. Doong ◽

J.-M. Fu ◽

Y.-C. Huang

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽

Chemical Vapor Deposition ◽

Vapor Deposition ◽

Focused Ion Beam ◽

Ion Beam ◽

Chemical Vapor ◽

Specimen Preparation ◽

Preparation Technique ◽

Transmission Electron

Abstract The specimen preparation technique using focused ion beam (FIB) to generate cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) samples of chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of Tungsten-plug (W-plug) and Tungsten Silicides (WSix) was studied. Using the combination method including two axes tilting[l], gas enhanced focused ion beam milling[2] and sacrificial metal coating on both sides of electron transmission membrane[3], it was possible to prepare a sample with minimal thickness (less than 1000 A) to get high spatial resolution in TEM observation. Based on this novel thinning technique, some applications such as XTEM observation of W-plug with different aspect ratio (I - 6), and the grain structure of CVD W-plug and CVD WSix were done. Also the problems and artifacts of XTEM sample preparation of high Z-factor material such as CVD W-plug and CVD WSix were given and the ways to avoid or minimize them were suggested.

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