The microscopy to support process development of Si-based semiconductors has consistently required state-of-the-art instrumentation. As the industry strains to achieve 1 OOnm design rules, this requirement has never been more pronounced. This paper presents TEM, SEM and FIB examples with a focus on using the instrumentation near the performance limit.

Transmission Electron Microscopy - The high contrast and high resolution images provided by the TEM have made this “research instrument” into the mainstay of the semiconductor analysis laboratory. For the vast majority of samples, both plan view and cross sections, precious little tilt is required. For cross sections, +/- 3 degrees is usually adequate to bring the silicon into (110) orientation and plan views are commonly made from polycrystalline films, which benefit more from choosing the right thickness than from tilt. Under appreciated is the benefit of very high resolution polepieces which have superior spherical and chromatic aberration coefficients producing real improvements in image quality.