A study of the influence of high voltage device characteristics by electron beam irradiation during nanoprobing

It has been widely reported that floating gate irradiation using a charged beam can shift device parameters with the scaling of the devices [1–4]. For high voltage (HV) devices, the effects of electron beam (EB) induced damage, however, have not been reported. This paper describes how charge damage during EB exposure should also be considered for high voltage (HV) devices when scanning electron microscope (SEM) is employed for probe guidance. In this study, the effects of EB cathode potential on CMOS transistor threshold voltage and off-state current are investigated using HV, middle voltage (MV), and low voltage (LV) devices. The experimental results show that, to avoid damage, the acceleration voltage of EB should be lower.