Narrow-Beam Argon Ion Milling of Ex Situ Lift-Out FIB Specimens Mounted on Various Carbon-Supported Grids

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Campin ◽  
C. S. Bonifacio ◽  
P. Nowakowski ◽  
P. E. Fischione ◽  
L. A. Giannuzzi
Keyword(s):  
Focused Ion Beam ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Semiconductor Industry ◽  
Carbon Support ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Specimen Preparation ◽  
Narrow Beam ◽  
Ion Milling ◽  
Preparation Methods ◽  
Argon Ion

Abstract The semiconductor industry recently has been investigating new specimen preparation methods that can improve throughput while maintaining quality. The result has been a combination of focused ion beam (FIB) preparation and ex situ lift-out (EXLO) techniques. Unfortunately, the carbon support on the EXLO grid presents problems if the lamella needs to be thinned once it is on the grid. In this paper, we show how low-energy (< 1 keV), narrow-beam (< 1 μm diameter) Ar ion milling can be used to thin specimens and remove gallium from EXLO FIB specimens mounted on various support grids.

Low Energy Ar Ion Milling of FIB TEM Specimens from 14 nm and Future FinFET Technologies

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.S. Bonifacio ◽  
P. Nowakowski ◽  
M.J. Campin ◽  
M.L. Ray ◽  
P.E. Fischione
Keyword(s):  
Field Effect Transistor ◽  
Focused Ion Beam ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Specimen Preparation ◽  
Ion Milling ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
High Resolution Tem ◽  
Effect Transistor ◽  
20 Nm ◽  
Argon Ion

Abstract Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) specimens are typically prepared using the focused ion beam (FIB) due to its site specificity, and fast and accurate thinning capabilities. However, TEM and high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) analysis may be limited due to the resulting FIB-induced artifacts. This work identifies FIB artifacts and presents the use of argon ion milling for the removal of FIB-induced damage for reproducible TEM specimen preparation of current and future fin field effect transistor (FinFET) technologies. Subsequently, high-quality and electron-transparent TEM specimens of less than 20 nm are obtained.

Automated End-Point Detection and Targeted Ar+ Milling of Advanced Integrated Circuit FIB TEM Specimens

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.S. Bonifacio ◽  
P. Nowakowski ◽  
M.J. Campin ◽  
J.T. Harbaugh ◽  
M. Boccabella ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Integrated Circuits ◽  
Integrated Circuit ◽  
Focused Ion Beam ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Specimen Preparation ◽  
Ion Milling ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
End Point Detection ◽  
Point Detection ◽  
Argon Ion

Abstract The sub-nanometer resolution that transmission electron microscopy (TEM) provides is critical to the development and fabrication of advanced integrated circuits. TEM specimens are usually prepared using the focused ion beam, which can cause gallium-induced artifacts and amorphization. This work presents the use of a concentrated argon ion beam for reproducible TEM specimen preparation using automatic milling termination and targeted ion milling of device features; the result is high-quality and electron-transparent specimens of less than 30 nm. Such work is relevant for semiconductor product development and failure analysis.

Ion Milling of Ex-Situ Lift-Out FIB Specimens

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.J. Campin ◽  
C.S. Bonifacio ◽  
M. Boccabella ◽  
P.E. Fischione ◽  
H.H. Kang
Keyword(s):  
Semiconductor Industry ◽  
Carbon Support ◽  
Low Energy ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Narrow Beam ◽  
Ion Milling ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Tem Lamella

Abstract The semiconductor industry is constantly investigating new methods that can improve both the quality of TEM lamella and the speed at which they can be created. To improve throughput, a combination of FIB-based preparation and ex situ lift-out (EXLO) techniques have been used. Unfortunately, the carbon support on the EXLO grid presents problems if the lamella needs to be thinned once it is on the grid. In this paper, we present low-energy (<1 keV), narrow-beam (<1 μm diameter), Ar+ ion milling as a method of preparing electron-transparent and gallium-free EXLO FIB specimens

Focused Ion Beam Sample Preparation of Non-Semiconductor Materials

1997 ◽  
Vol 480 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. W. Phaneuf ◽  
N. Rowlands ◽  
G. J. C. Carpenter ◽  
G. Sundaram
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Automobile Industry ◽  
Focused Ion Beam ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Semiconductor Industry ◽  
Semiconductor Materials ◽  
Specimen Preparation ◽  
Ion Milling ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Galvannealed Steel

AbstractFocused Ion Beam (FIB) systems have been steadily gaining acceptance as specimen preparation tools in the semiconductor industry. This is largely due to the fact that such instruments are relatively commonplace as failure analysis tools in semiconductor houses, and are commonly used in the preparation of cross-sections for imaging under the ion beam or using an electron beam in an SEM. Additionally, the ease with which cross-sectional TEM specimens of semiconductor devices can be prepared using FIB systems has been well demonstrated. However, this technology is largely unknown outside the semiconductor industry. Relatively few references exist in the literature on the preparation of cross-sectional TEM specimens of non-semiconductor materials by FIB. This paper discusses a specific use of FIB technology in the preparation of cross-sectional TEM specimens of non-semiconductor samples that are difficult to prepare by conventional means. One example of such materials is commercial galvannealed steel sheet that is used to form corrosion resistant auto-bodies for the automobile industry. Cross-sectional TEM specimens of this material have proved difficult and time-intensive to prepare by standard polishing and ion milling techniques due to galvanneal's inherent flaking and powdering difficulties, as well as the different sputtering rates of the various Fe-Zn intermetallic phases present in the galvannealed coatings. TEM results from cross-sectional samples of commercial galvannealed steel coatings prepared by conventional ion milling and FIB techniques are compared to assess image quality, the size of the electron-transparent thin regions that can be readily prepared and the quality of samples produced by both techniques. Specimen preparation times for both techniques are reported.

Chemically Assisted Ion Beam Etching (CAIBE)- a New Technique for TEM Specimen Preparation of Materials

1990 ◽  
Vol 199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reza Alani ◽  
Joseph Jones ◽  
Peter Swann
Keyword(s):  
Ion Beam ◽  
Semiconductor Industry ◽  
Active Species ◽  
Inert Gas ◽  
New Technique ◽  
Specimen Preparation ◽  
Ion Milling ◽  
Ion Beam Etching ◽  
Specimen Holder ◽  
Argon Ion

ABSTRACTChemically assisted ion beam etching (CAIBE) is widely practiced in the semiconductor industry. In the electron microscopy field, the CAIBE technique offers a new method for preparing specimens that are difficult to make by conventional inert gas milling techniques, e.g. indium containing type III-V compound semiconductors. CAIBE employs a collimated, molecular beam of a reactive species, e.g. iodine in combination with a conventional inert gas fast atom beam for thinning TEM specimens. CAIBE should not be confused with reactive ion beam etching (RIBE) which takes a chemically active species (e.g. iodine) and converts it into a beam of fast ions directed at the sample. CAIBE has three major advantages over (RIBE): i) corrosion of the ion gun components does not occur, ii) much smaller quantities of reactive gas are required and hence pump maintenance and pollution problems are minimized, iii) a wider range of chemicals may be used. Superior results are obtained if CAIBE is done on only one side of the specimen at a time. This is achieved using a new type of specimen holder post which enables very low angle milling and minimizes specimen contamination by sputtering from the holder. This new technique is described and results from iodine CAIBE milling, iodine RIBE milling and argon ion milling are compared for InP, InSb and GaAs as well as metals like tungsten. Also, the beneficial effects of very low angle (∼1°) argon ion milling in preparing specimens of silicide containing Si based IC wafers is reported.

Transmission Electron Microscopy of Semiconductor Based Products

1998 ◽  
Vol 523 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Mardinly ◽  
David W. Susnitzky
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Semiconductor Industry ◽  
Size Reduction ◽  
Specimen Preparation ◽  
Specimen Thickness ◽  
Ion Milling ◽  
Feature Size ◽  
Transmission Electron

AbstractThe demand for increasingly higher performance semiconductor products has stimulated the semiconductor industry to respond by producing devices with increasingly complex circuitry, more transistors in less space, more layers of metal, dielectric and interconnects, more interfaces, and a manufacturing process with nearly 1,000 steps. As all device features are shrunk in the quest for higher performance, the role of Transmission Electron Microscopy as a characterization tool takes on a continually increasing importance over older, lower-resolution characterization tools, such as SEM. The Ångstrom scale imaging resolution and nanometer scale chemical analysis and diffraction resolution provided by modem TEM's are particularly well suited for solving materials problems encountered during research, development, production engineering, reliability testing, and failure analysis. A critical enabling technology for the application of TEM to semiconductor based products as the feature size shrinks below a quarter micron is advances in specimen preparation. The traditional 1,000Å thick specimen will be unsatisfactory in a growing number of applications. It can be shown using a simple geometrical model, that the thickness of TEM specimens must shrink as the square root of the feature size reduction. Moreover, the center-targeting of these specimens must improve so that the centertargeting error shrinks linearly with the feature size reduction. To meet these challenges, control of the specimen preparation process will require a new generation of polishing and ion milling tools that make use of high resolution imaging to control the ion milling process. In addition, as the TEM specimen thickness shrinks, the thickness of surface amorphization produced must also be reduced. Gallium focused ion beam systems can produce hundreds of Ångstroms of amorphised surface silicon, an amount which can consume an entire thin specimen. This limitation to FIB milling requires a method of removal of amorphised material that leaves no artifact in the remaining material.

FIB Techniques for Analysis of Metallurgical Specimens

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (S2) ◽  
pp. 524-525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael W. Phaneuf ◽  
Jian Li
Keyword(s):  
Focused Ion Beam ◽  
Materials Science ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Semiconductor Industry ◽  
Zirconium Alloys ◽  
Chemical Information ◽  
Specimen Preparation ◽  
Orientation Contrast ◽  
Imaging Tool ◽  
Zinc Coatings

Focused ion beam (FIB) microscopes, the use of which is well established in the semiconductor industry, are rapidly gaining attention in the field of materials science, both as a tool for producing site specific, parallel sided TEM specimens and as a stand alone specimen preparation and imaging tool.Both FIB secondary ion images (FIB SII) and FIB secondary electron images (FIB SEI) contain novel crystallographic and chemical information. The ability to see “orientation contrast” in FIB SEI and to a lesser extent SII is well known for cubic materials and more recently stress-free FIB sectioning combined with FIB imaging have been shown to reveal evidence of plastic deformation in metallic specimens. Particularly in hexagonal metals, FIB orientation contrast is sometimes reduced or eliminated by the FIB sectioning process. We have successfully employed FIB gas assisted etching during FIB sectioning using XeF2 for zirconium alloys and Cl2 for zinc coatings on steels to retain orientation contrast during subsequent imaging.

Focused Ion Beam Study of Ni5Al Single Splat Microstructure

2006 ◽  
Vol 983 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuhong Wu ◽  
Meng Qu ◽  
Lucille A Giannuzzi ◽  
Sanjay Sampath ◽  
Andrew Gouldstone
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Focused Ion Beam ◽  
Surface Engineering ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Deposition Process ◽  
Rapid Quenching ◽  
Specimen Preparation ◽  
Ion Milling ◽  
Columnar Grains ◽  
Lift Off

AbstractThermally sprayed (TS) coatings are widely used for surface engineering across a range of industries, including aerospace, infrastructure and biomedical. TS materials are formed via the successive impingement, rapid quenching and build-up of molten powder particles on a substrate. The impacted ‘splats’ are thus the fundamental microstructural constituents of the coatings, and their intrinsic properties, as well as intersplat bonding and morphology, dictate coating behavior. Beyond the obvious practical considerations, from a scientific standpoint, splats represent a fascinating template for study, due to the highly non-equilibrium processing conditions (rapid deceleration from sub-sonic velocities, million-degree/sec cooling rates). In the literature, many studies of isolated splats on substrates have been carried out, but these have focused on overall morphology (disc-shape vs fragmented). Direct observations of microstructure, in particular cross-section, are limited in the specimen preparation stage due to splat size (tens of microns in diameter, 1-2 microns in thickness). However, Focused Ion Beam (FIB) techniques have allowed this problem to be addressed in a robust manner; in this paper we will discuss such approaches to observe Ni5Al splats on stainless steel substrates. Cross-sections through the splat and the substrate were created by recourse to ion milling and the ion beam itself provided good channeling contrast for grain imaging. The typical splat microstructure with sub-micron Ni(Al) columnar grains, a chill zone at the bottom and a lift off area is observed in high detail. In addition, an amorphous aluminum oxide top layer of 100-200 nm is partially present on top of the Ni(Al) columnar grains. At the splat/substrate interface, defects such as micro- and nano-scale pores were characterized for the first time and will be discussed. These observations provide insights into splat and interface formation during the deposition process and may drastically improve our current understanding of Ni5Al splat properties.

Comparison of Precision XTEM Specimen Preparation Techniques for Semiconductor Failure Analysis

1997 ◽  
Vol 3 (S2) ◽  
pp. 357-358
Author(s):  
C. Amy Hunt
Keyword(s):  
Sample Preparation ◽  
Failure Analysis ◽  
Focused Ion Beam ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Mechanical Polishing ◽  
Specimen Preparation ◽  
Ion Milling ◽  
Tem Analysis ◽  
The Past ◽  
Preparation Techniques

The demand for TEM analysis in semiconductor failure analysis is rising sharply due to the shrinking size of devices. A well-prepared sample is a necessity for getting meaningful results. In the past decades, a significant amount of effort has been invested in improving sample preparation techniques for TEM specimens, especially precision cross-sectioning techniques. The most common methods of preparation are mechanical dimpling & ion milling, focused ion beam milling (FIBXTEM), and wedge mechanical polishing. Each precision XTEM technique has important advantages and limitations that must be considered for each sample.The concept for both dimpling & ion milling and wedge specimen preparation techniques is similar. Both techniques utilize mechanical polishing to remove the majority of the unwanted material, followed by ion milling to assist in final polishing or cleaning. Dimpling & ion milling produces the highest quality samples and is a relatively easy technique to master.

scholarly journals Narrow-Beam Argon Ion Milling of Carbon-Supported Ex Situ Lift-Out FIB Specimens

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (S1) ◽  
pp. 302-303
Author(s):  
M.J. Campin ◽  
C.S. Bonifacio ◽  
H.H. Kang ◽  
P. Nowakowski ◽  
M. Boccabella ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ex Situ ◽  
Narrow Beam ◽  
Ion Milling ◽  
Argon Ion
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