Enhancing Cross-Sectional Milling Performance in Plasma Focused Ion Beam Using Shadow Masking
Enhancing Cross-Sectional Milling Performance in Plasma Focused Ion Beam Using Shadow Masking
Thursday, October 8, 2026: 10:20 AM
Summary:
With the increasing complexity of High Bandwidth Memory and advanced packaging structures, precise large-area milling for semiconductor sample analysis has become increasingly important. To meet these demands, Plasma Focused Ion Beam (PFIB) systems that use high-current beams for large-area milling are widely used. However, PFIB milling suffers from issues such as curtain effects and peripheral damage caused by beam tails and sample surface conditions. This study introduces a shadow masking technique to reduce beam-induced damage. In this approach, the beam tail is physically blocked, thereby preventing unintended damage to the region of interest from surrounding irradiation. This technique improves throughput by approximately 50% by enabling high-current milling while maintaining high-quality cross sections, and expands tool utilization by enabling processing of samples that cannot undergo deposition. This approach is expected to broaden the applicability of PFIB in semiconductor analysis.
With the increasing complexity of High Bandwidth Memory and advanced packaging structures, precise large-area milling for semiconductor sample analysis has become increasingly important. To meet these demands, Plasma Focused Ion Beam (PFIB) systems that use high-current beams for large-area milling are widely used. However, PFIB milling suffers from issues such as curtain effects and peripheral damage caused by beam tails and sample surface conditions. This study introduces a shadow masking technique to reduce beam-induced damage. In this approach, the beam tail is physically blocked, thereby preventing unintended damage to the region of interest from surrounding irradiation. This technique improves throughput by approximately 50% by enabling high-current milling while maintaining high-quality cross sections, and expands tool utilization by enabling processing of samples that cannot undergo deposition. This approach is expected to broaden the applicability of PFIB in semiconductor analysis.