Fei Comapny

Micah LeDoux

James S Clarke

Jason Lee Monfort

Brett Avedisian

Brian Routh, Jr

Cliff Bugge

Apparatus and methods are disclosed for sample preparation, suitable for online or offline use with multilayer samples. Ion beam technology is leveraged to provide rapid, accurate delayering with etch stops at a succession of target layers. In one aspect, a trench is milled around a region of interest (ROI), and a conductive coating is developed on an inner sidewall. Thereby, reliable conducting paths are formed between intermediate layers within the ROI and a base layer, and stray current paths extending outside the ROI are eliminated, providing better quality etch progress monitoring, during subsequent etching, from body or scattered currents. Ion beam assisted gas etching provides rapid delayering with etch stops at target polysilicon layers. Uniform etching at deep layers can be achieved. Variations and results are disclosed.

Perimeter trench formation and delineation etch delayering

The backside of a planar view lamella is prepared from a sample extracted from a workpiece. The sample includes multiple device layers and a substrate layer. After removing at least a part of the substrate layer covering a final device layer to obtain a sample surface, a region of interest (ROI) relative to the sample surface is alternately scanned with an electron beam and spontaneously etched until the final device layer within the ROI is exposed. One or more device layers may be removed from the sample backside after the final device layer is exposed to obtain the backside of the planar view lamella.

Growing community of inventors

Beaverton, OR, United States of America

Micah LeDoux