The transition to semiconductor design nodes below 100 nm will create high demands on metrology solutions for the detection and chemical characterization of defects and particles throughout all processing steps. The compositional analysis of particles with sizes below about 20 nm is one particular challenge. We describe progress in the development of a highly charged ion based secondary ion mass spectrometry (HCI-SIMS) schemes aimed at addressing this challenge. Using ions like Xe⁴⁸⁺ as projectiles increases secondary ion yields by several orders of magnitude and enables the application of coincidence counting techniques for the characterization of nano-environments of selected species. Additionally, an ion emission microscope was developed for defect imaging and we report examples of its application. We discuss steps of combining beam focusing, coincidence analysis and emission microscopy to enable compositional analysis of sub 20-nm size particles.

Date Published: 27 December 2001
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 4468, Engineering Thin Films with Ion Beams, Nanoscale Diagnostics, and Molecular Manufacturing, (27 December 2001); doi: 10.1117/12.452558

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 4468:
Engineering Thin Films with Ion Beams, Nanoscale Diagnostics, and Molecular Manufacturing
Emile J. Knystautas; Wiley P. Kirk; Valerie Browning, Editor(s)