Utilization of voltage contrast during sample preparation for transmission electron microscopy
US9779910B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 13, 2016 |
| Grant date | Oct 3, 2017 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 13, 2036 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01J2237/31749
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Transmission electron microscopes (TEMs) are being utilized more often in failure analysis labs as processing nodes decrease and alternative device structures, such as three dimensional, multi-gate transistors, e.g., FinFETs (Fin Field Effect Transistors), are utilized in IC designs. However, these types of structures may confuse typical TEM sample (or “lamella”) preparation as the resulting lamella may contain multiple potentially faulty structures, making it difficult to identify the actual faulty structure. Passive voltage contrast may be used in a dual beam focused ion beam (FIB) microscope system including a scanning electron microscope (SEM) column by systematically identifying non-faulty structures and milling them from the lamella until the faulty structure is identified.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.