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Optimization of FIB-Milling Technique for Preparation of TEM Specimens from Copper/Low-K Materials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

F. Shaapur ,
D. Brazeau  and
B. Foran
F. Shaapur
Affiliation:
SEMATECH, 2706 Montopolis Drive, Austin, TX78741
D. Brazeau
Affiliation:
SEMATECH, 2706 Montopolis Drive, Austin, TX78741
B. Foran
Affiliation:
SEMATECH, 2706 Montopolis Drive, Austin, TX78741
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Focused ion beam (FIB) thinning of materials to electron transparency is now a routine procedure for preparation of specimens for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of microelectronic materials and devices. The nano-scale structural damage, including implantation and amorphization due to this ion milling process has been well investigated and documented. In this paper, we discuss the micro-scale structural damage observed in copper/low-k materials and our efforts to minimize the extent of the damage without compromising the overall specimen preparation time.

Figure 1 shows an area-specific cross-sectional specimen prepared from a copper/low-k via-chain test structure using the FIB-milling technique. The procedure involved mechanical thinning of a transverse wafer sliver followed by FIB-milling the area of interest to electron transparency according to conventional steps and conditions' using a liquid Ga+ ion source FIB system. The evidence of structural damage in terms of melting and/or sputtering of the metallization is visible at different areas.

Type
Precision Specimen Preparation
Information
Microscopy and Microanalysis , Volume 5 , Issue S2: Proceedings: Microscopy & Microanalysis '99, Microscopy Society of America 57th Annual Meeting, Microbeam Analysis Society 33rd Annual Meeting, Portland, Oregon August 1-5, 1999 , August 1999 , pp. 902 - 903
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America

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References

1.Basile, P.P., et al., in Specimen Preparation for Transmission Electron Microscopy of Materials, ed. by Anderson, R., et al., (Mater. Res. Soc. Proc. 254, Pittsburgh, PA 1992), p 23.Google Scholar
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