The Fundamentals of Nanoprobe Analysis (2022 Update)

This presentation provides an overview of nanoprobe systems and what they reveal about defects and abnormalities in semiconductor device structures and materials. The presentation covers the basic operating principles, implementation, and capabilities of atomic force probe and beam-based imaging techniques, including AFP pico-current contrast and scanning capacitance imaging, SEM/FIB active voltage contrast imaging, and SEM/FIB electron-beam absorbed current (EBAC), induced current (EBIC), and induced resistance change (EBIRCH) imaging. It also includes guidelines for probing transistors and copper metallization and case studies in which nanoprobing was used to analyze gate oxide and substrate defects, intermittent bit cell failures, threshold voltage shifts, and time-domain popcorn noise.