The Impact of Varying TEM Accelerating Voltage on Elemental Analysis of Semiconductor Defects
The Impact of Varying TEM Accelerating Voltage on Elemental Analysis of Semiconductor Defects
Thursday, October 31, 2024: 10:00 AM
202 (Hilton San Diego Bayfront)
Summary:
In the field of failure analysis (FA) for semiconductor devices, the transmission electron microscope (TEM) as an analytical tool is integral to finding visible evidence of defects and their root cause. Especially as device features shrink, imaging and analyzing increasingly subtle defects requires detailed elemental analysis. In this work, elemental analysis using an aberration-corrected TEM at different accelerating voltages (200kV and 80 kV) is discussed. The impact of accelerating voltage on elemental analysis with regards to Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) is of central focus. Two case studies involving TEM samples of different thicknesses are presented that clearly indicate important differences in the analytical data collected at different accelerating voltages. The work revealed that for elemental analysis of thick TEM samples (100nm and over) 200kV is preferred, but for thin samples, 80kV provides superior signal in EDS and EELS.
In the field of failure analysis (FA) for semiconductor devices, the transmission electron microscope (TEM) as an analytical tool is integral to finding visible evidence of defects and their root cause. Especially as device features shrink, imaging and analyzing increasingly subtle defects requires detailed elemental analysis. In this work, elemental analysis using an aberration-corrected TEM at different accelerating voltages (200kV and 80 kV) is discussed. The impact of accelerating voltage on elemental analysis with regards to Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) is of central focus. Two case studies involving TEM samples of different thicknesses are presented that clearly indicate important differences in the analytical data collected at different accelerating voltages. The work revealed that for elemental analysis of thick TEM samples (100nm and over) 200kV is preferred, but for thin samples, 80kV provides superior signal in EDS and EELS.