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Cross-Sectional Transmission Electron Microscopy Sample Preparation Using Focus Ion Beam Machine and Wedge Technique

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

Du Li
Affiliation:
Micron Technology, Inc., 8000 S. Federal Way, Boise, Idaho83707-0006, USA
Rose Zhou
Affiliation:
Present address:, Cypress Semiconductor, San Jose, California95134, USA
Rob Zanoya
Affiliation:
Micron Technology, Inc., 8000 S. Federal Way, Boise, Idaho83707-0006, USA
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Extract

As features on an IC chip become smaller than the resolution power of an optical microscope and of the size of the grinding particles, the trend for preparing cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) samples at specific locations (bits) is moving towards using a focused ion beam (FIB) machine. Details on how to use a FIB machine to prepare cross-sectional TEM samples have been outlined in many references.The general procedure is to first mark the specific location (bit) in the FIB machine and then grind the sample down to about 20 microns, 10 microns on each side of the feature of interest. After grinding, the sample is mounted on a pre-cut TEM grid and thinned with the FIB to about 0.1 micron in the region containing the feature of interest. There are several disadvantages to this method. First, the sample goes into the FIB machine at least twice—once for FIB marks on the location and once again for the final thinning.

Type
Precision Specimen Preparation
Copyright
Copyright © Microscopy Society of America

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References

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