Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-wg55d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-07T21:58:30.837Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Nanofabrication with the Helium Ion Microscope

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2012

Stuart A. Boden
Affiliation:
Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, U.K.
Zakaria Moktadir
Affiliation:
Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, U.K.
Feras M. Alkhalil
Affiliation:
Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, U.K.
Hiroshi Mizuta
Affiliation:
Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, U.K.
Harvey N. Rutt
Affiliation:
Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, U.K.
Darren M. Bagnall
Affiliation:
Electronics and Computer Science, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, U.K.
Get access

Abstract

Although initially developed as an imaging tool, the helium ion microscope (HIM) is finding applications in nanofabrication as its focused ion beam is capable of highly-localized material modification. In this study, an external pattern generator is used to explore the capabilities of the HIM for localized milling of a ∼7 nm thick layer of silicon-on-insulator, with atomic force microscopy (AFM) used to characterize the resulting patterns. The dose and patterned area size are varied and milling to depths >7 nm is demonstrated. At high doses and large areas, protuberances form, primarily due to sub-surface swelling caused by the implanted helium. The results suggest this technique could enable the rapid prototyping of next-generation nanoelectronic devices in thin silicon.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

[1] Ward, B. W., Notte, J. A., and Economou, N. P., “Helium ion microscope: A new tool for nanoscale microscopy and metrology,” Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B, vol. 24, no. 6, pp. 28712874, 2006.Google Scholar
[2] Scipioni, L., Stern, L. A., Notte, J., Sijbrandij, S., and Griffin, B., “Helium Ion Microscope,” Advanced Materials & Processes, vol. 166, pp. 2730, 2008.Google Scholar
[3] Yang, J. et al. ., “Rapid and precise scanning helium ion microscope milling of solid-state nanopores for biomolecule detection.,” Nanotechnology, vol. 22, no. 28, p. 285310, Jul. 2011.Google Scholar
[4] Bell, D. C., Lemme, M. C., Stern, L. A., Williams, J. R., and Marcus, C. M., “Precision cutting and patterning of graphene with helium ions.,” Nanotechnology, vol. 20, no. 45, p. 455301, Nov. 2009.Google Scholar
[5] Boden, S. A., Moktadir, Z., Bagnall, D. M., Mizuta, H., and Rutt, H. N., “Focused helium ion beam milling and deposition,” Microelectronic Engineering, vol. 88, pp. 24522455, Nov. 2011.Google Scholar
[6] Bell, D. C., Lemme, M. C., Stern, L. A., and Marcus, C. M., “Precision material modification and patterning with He ions,” Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures, vol. 27, no. 6, p. 2755, 2009.Google Scholar
[7] Tang, X. et al. ., “Characterization of ultrathin SOI film and application to short channel MOSFETs,” Nanotechnology, vol. 19, no. 16, p. 165703, Apr. 2008.Google Scholar
[8] Cheng, K. et al. ., “Extremely thin SOI (ETSOI) technology: Past, present, and future,” in 2010 IEEE International SOI Conference (SOI), 2010, pp. 14.Google Scholar
[9] Alkhalil, F., Chong, H., Ferguson, A., Tsuchiya, Y., and Mizuta, H., “Design and Analysis of Double Spin Qubits Integrated on Ultra-thin Silicon-on-insulator,” in ESSDERC, 2010, pp. 14.Google Scholar