Investigation on Process Dependence of Self-Assembled Metal Nanocrystals

2002 ◽  
Vol 737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chungho Lee ◽  
Zengtao Liu ◽  
Edwin C. Kan

ABSTRACTWe report the systematic characterization of metal nanocrystal formation on ultra-thin tunnel gate oxide (2∼3nm) for memory applications. To get a high density and small average size of nanocrystals, the process parameters including annealing temperature, initial film thickness, and substrate doping are investigated for Au, Ag, and Pt nanocrystal formation with Si nanocrystal structure as control samples. The observation of nanocrystal formation by scanning electron microscope (SEM) shows that annealing below melting temperature of deposited film contributes to the reshaping of nanocrystals, while the initial film thickness to actual nanocrystal growth. In addition, the Schottky charge effect from substrate doping is not negligible if the tunnel oxide is thin. Controlling the process parameters, Au, Ag, and Pt nanocrystals of 4.0×1011cm-2, 2.8×1011cm-2, and 2.4×1011cm-2 can be formed with mean size of 6.2nm, 6.6nm, and 8.0nm, respectively. The observation of nanocrystals by scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) shows that nanocrystals are spherical and crystalline. Metal contamination to the Si/SiO2 interface is also closely monitored with many process recipes of metal nanocrystal formation on 2∼3nm oxide showing atomically clean interface. Electrical evaluation of nanocrystal formation is carried out by C-V measurements of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors with embedded metal nanocrystals.

2016 ◽  
Vol 858 ◽  
pp. 485-488
Author(s):  
Soshi Sato ◽  
Kikuo Yamabe ◽  
Tetsuo Endoh ◽  
Masaaki Niwa

The failure mechanism of a SiC metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor with a poly-Si gate electrode was investigated by time-dependent dielectric breakdown testing under a 200-nA constant current stress. The capacitor exhibited both hard and soft breakdowns. After dielectric breakdown in both cases, adjacent concaves were observed on the capacitor with a field-emission scanning electron microscope. Additional optical beam-induced resistance changes and photo-emission analysis of a capacitor after hard-breakdown located a failure point on the periphery of a group of adjacent concaves. Cross-sectional scanning transmission electron microscope observation revealed that a narrow, vertical defect had formed at this point on the SiC substrate.


Author(s):  
A. V. Crewe

The high resolution STEM is now a fact of life. I think that we have, in the last few years, demonstrated that this instrument is capable of the same resolving power as a CEM but is sufficiently different in its imaging characteristics to offer some real advantages.It seems possible to prove in a quite general way that only a field emission source can give adequate intensity for the highest resolution^ and at the moment this means operating at ultra high vacuum levels. Our experience, however, is that neither the source nor the vacuum are difficult to manage and indeed are simpler than many other systems and substantially trouble-free.


Author(s):  
H. Koike ◽  
S. Sakurai ◽  
K. Ueno ◽  
M. Watanabe

In recent years, there has been increasing demand for higher voltage SEMs, in the field of surface observation, especially that of magnetic domains, dislocations, and electron channeling patterns by backscattered electron microscopy. On the other hand, the resolution of the CTEM has now reached 1 ∼ 2Å, and several reports have recently been made on the observation of atom images, indicating that the ultimate goal of morphological observation has beem nearly achieved.


Author(s):  
H. Rose

The scanning transmission electron microscope offers the possibility of utilizing inelastically scattered electrons. Use of these electrons in addition to the elastically scattered electrons should reduce the scanning time (dose) Which is necessary to keep the quantum noise below a certain level. Hence it should lower the radiation damage. For high resolution, Where the collection efficiency of elastically scattered electrons is small, the use of Inelastically scattered electrons should become more and more favorable because they can all be detected by means of a spectrometer. Unfortunately, the Inelastic scattering Is a non-localized interaction due to the electron-electron correlation, occurring predominantly at the circumference of the atomic electron cloud.


Author(s):  
J.N. Chapman ◽  
P.E. Batson ◽  
E.M. Waddell ◽  
R.P. Ferrier

By far the most commonly used mode of Lorentz microscopy in the examination of ferromagnetic thin films is the Fresnel or defocus mode. Use of this mode in the conventional transmission electron microscope (CTEM) is straightforward and immediately reveals the existence of all domain walls present. However, if such quantitative information as the domain wall profile is required, the technique suffers from several disadvantages. These include the inability to directly observe fine image detail on the viewing screen because of the stringent illumination coherence requirements, the difficulty of accurately translating part of a photographic plate into quantitative electron intensity data, and, perhaps most severe, the difficulty of interpreting this data. One solution to the first-named problem is to use a CTEM equipped with a field emission gun (FEG) (Inoue, Harada and Yamamoto 1977) whilst a second is to use the equivalent mode of image formation in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) (Chapman, Batson, Waddell, Ferrier and Craven 1977), a technique which largely overcomes the second-named problem as well.


Author(s):  
J. R. Fields

The energy analysis of electrons scattered by a specimen in a scanning transmission electron microscope can improve contrast as well as aid in chemical identification. In so far as energy analysis is useful, one would like to be able to design a spectrometer which is tailored to his particular needs. In our own case, we require a spectrometer which will accept a parallel incident beam and which will focus the electrons in both the median and perpendicular planes. In addition, since we intend to follow the spectrometer by a detector array rather than a single energy selecting slit, we need as great a dispersion as possible. Therefore, we would like to follow our spectrometer by a magnifying lens. Consequently, the line along which electrons of varying energy are dispersed must be normal to the direction of the central ray at the spectrometer exit.


Author(s):  
M. G. R. Thomson

The variation of contrast and signal to noise ratio with change in detector solid angle in the high resolution scanning transmission electron microscope was discussed in an earlier paper. In that paper the conclusions were that the most favourable conditions for the imaging of isolated single heavy atoms were, using the notation in figure 1, either bright field phase contrast with β0⋍0.5 α0, or dark field with an annular detector subtending an angle between ao and effectively π/2.The microscope is represented simply by the model illustrated in figure 1, and the objective lens is characterised by its coefficient of spherical aberration Cs. All the results for the Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM) may with care be applied to the Conventional Electron Microscope (CEM). The object atom is represented as detailed in reference 2, except that ϕ(θ) is taken to be the constant ϕ(0) to simplify the integration. This is reasonable for θ ≤ 0.1 θ0, where 60 is the screening angle.


Author(s):  
G. Botton ◽  
G. L’Espérance ◽  
M.D. Ball ◽  
C.E. Gallerneault

The recently developed parallel electron energy loss spectrometers (PEELS) have led to a significant reduction in spectrum acquisition time making EELS more useful in many applications in material science. Dwell times as short as 50 msec per spectrum with a PEELS coupled to a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM), can make quantitative EEL images accessible. These images would present distribution of elements with the high spatial resolution inherent to EELS. The aim of this paper is to briefly investigate the effect of acquisition time per pixel on the signal to noise ratio (SNR), the effect of thickness variation and crystallography and finally the energy stability of spectra when acquired in the scanning mode during long periods of time.The configuration of the imaging system is the following: a Gatan PEELS is coupled to a CM30 (TEM/STEM) electron microscope, the control of the spectrometer and microscope is performed through a LINK AN10-85S MCA which is interfaced to a IBM RT 125 (running under AIX) via a DR11W line.


Author(s):  
D. R. Liu ◽  
D. B. Williams

The secondary electron imaging technique in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) has been used first by Millman et al. in 1987 to distinguish between the superconducting phase and the non-superconducting phase of the YBa2Cu3O7-x superconductors. They observed that, if the sample was cooled down below the transition temperature Tc and imaged with secondary electrons, some regions in the image would show dark contrast whereas others show bright contrast. In general, the contrast variation of a SEM image is the variation of the secondary electron yield over a specimen, which in turn results from the change of topography and conductivity over the specimen. Nevertheless, Millman et al. were able to demonstrate with their experimental results that the dominant contrast mechanism should be the conductivity variation and that the regions of dark contrast were the superconducting phase whereas the regions of bright contrast were the non-superconducting phase, because the latter was a poor conductor and consequently, the charge building-up resulted in high secondary electron emission. This observation has since aroused much interest amoung the people in electron microscopy and high Tc superconductivity. The present paper is the preliminary report of our attempt to carry out the secondary electron imaging of this material in a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) rather than in a SEM. The advantage of performing secondary electron imaging in a TEM is obvious that, in a TEM, the spatial resolution is higher and many more complementary techniques, e.g, diffraction contrast imaging, phase contrast imaging, electron diffraction and various microanalysis techniques, are available.


Author(s):  
W. T. Pike

With the advent of crystal growth techniques which enable device structure control at the atomic level has arrived a need to determine the crystal structure at a commensurate scale. In particular, in epitaxial lattice mismatched multilayers, it is of prime importance to know the lattice parameter, and hence strain, in individual layers in order to explain the novel electronic behavior of such structures. In this work higher order Laue zone (holz) lines in the convergent beam microdiffraction patterns from a thermal emission transmission electron microscope (TEM) have been used to measure lattice parameters to an accuracy of a few parts in a thousand from nanometer areas of material.Although the use of CBM to measure strain using a dedicated field emission scanning transmission electron microscope has already been demonstrated, the recording of the diffraction pattern at the required resolution involves specialized instrumentation. In this work, a Topcon 002B TEM with a thermal emission source with condenser-objective (CO) electron optics is used.


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