Material Characterization & Failure analysis

Ion Technology Center provides material characterization and failure analysis services.

Material Characterization

Equipment

Surface analysis

Morphological observation of minute region

$X‐ray diffraction(XRD)$

Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry(SIMS)

Equipment

ADEPT1010

Principle

A sample is beamed with ions and sputtered secondary ions
are analyzed with a mass spectromete

Examples

-Depth profiles of ion-implanted samples
-Depth profiles of elements

P depth profile in Si

Depth profile of compound
semiconductor super lattice

X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy(XPS)
/Electron Spectroscopy for Chemical Analysis(ESCA)

Equipment

Quantum-2000

Principle

Determines atomic composition and chemical state
by analyzing the photoelectrons from the surface
to several nanometers emitted by irradiating the sample with x-ray

Characteristics

Atomic and chemical bonding state
Composition depth profile of multilayer film

Examples

-Depth profile of semiconductor thin film
-Composition analysis of shallow region of materials (nm)
-Bonding state analysis of shallow region of materials (nm)

Depth profile of multilayer film

Chemical bonding sate of passive film

Raman Spectroscopy(RAMAN)

Principle

Analyzes crystal state with Raman spectrum scattered
by irradiating the sample with laser beam.

Characteristics

Characterization of carbon material

Examples

-sp2 to sp3 ratio of DLC

DLC crystalline evaluation with RAMAN

Rutherford Back Scattering (RBS)

Principle

Analyzes quantitative composition and crystalline based upon the energy of the ions backscattered by irradiating high energy ions (H, He)

Characteristic

Determine composition and density of thin film
Crystalline evaluation with channeling

Case

-Semiconductor thin film crystalline evaluation
-Determination of H quantity in DLC
-Crystal structure evaluation with channeling

Composition and density evaluation
of SiN thin film with RBS

Crystalline evaluation of SiC implanted
at high temperature with channeling

Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)

Equipment

JEM-4000 EX-Ⅱ、HD-2000

Principle

Observes transmission electron by irradiating a thin sample with electron beam

Characteristics

Sub nanometers spatial resolution
Crystal structure analysis with electron beam diffraction

Examples

-Measurement of thin film thickness on the order of nanometers
-Crystal defect analysis on the order of semiconductor lattice
-Observation of local crystal structure
-Elemental maps with SETM/EDX

Lattice image of stacking fault edge in SiC

Measurement of thin film thickness in
semiconductor TEG pattern

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)

Equipment

S-900、JEM7500

Principle

Observes electron coming out from a sample irradiated by electron beam

Characteristic

Observation of roughness and morphology of sample surface
Observation of contrast caused by compositions
Composition analysis with SEM-EDX

Case

-Measurement of material thickness on the order of sub-micron
-Semiconductor failure analysis
-Evaluation of surface roughness
-Evaluation of cross sectional structure

Cross sectional observation
of a semiconductor with SEM

Observation of multi-layer carbon

Nano Indentation

Equipment

Tribo scope

Principle

Tests hardness by pressing a hard tip into a sample

Characteristics

Measurement of hardness of a thin film on the order of nanometers
Observation of incidents on a surface

Examples

-Hardness measurement of semiconductor thin film
-Hardness measurement of DLC

Observation of an indent
by nano indentation tip

Load vs. displacement curve of nano indentation

Atomic Force Microscope (AFM)

Equipment

SPM9600

Principle

Provides surface topography by measuring the deflection of a cantilever scanning through the sample surface

Characteristics

Measurement under the atmospheric pressure condition
2D and 3D surface topographic image

Examples

-Observation of small roughness on semiconductor surface
-Observation of atomic step of a thin film

Evaluation of surface roughness
of ITO film with AFM

Evaluation of surface roughness
of diffraction grating with AFM

X‐ray Diffraction(XRD)

Principle

XRD: Detects diffracted X-ray intensity by Irradiating a sample with X-ray
XRR: Detects refracted X-ray intensity by Irradiating a sample with X-ray at low angle, then determines thickness, density and roughness of the sample with simulation

Characteristics

XRD: Characterization of crystal state
XRR: Determining thickness, density and roughness

Examples

XRD: Characterization of crystal structure of various materials
XRR: Determining thickness, density and roughness of a semiconductor thin film and DLC