F. Lorut, STMicroelectronics, Crolles, France; D. Delille, FEI Company, Eindhoven, Netherlands

Summary: Certain classes of device failures are difficult to analyse with the widely used FIB/SEM analysis techniques and do require complementary techniques to identify the root cause of the electrical failure. Regular TEM analysis of the defective zones is often inadequate because it is difficult to ensure that the defect is included in the (thin) TEM lamella and, if the TEM analysis is preceded by a FIB/SEM inspection, the defect risks to be (partially) destructed. Various case studies will be presented showing that 3D STEM tomography can provide conclusive analytical results, provided that special care is taken to prepare a well adapted sample.