HERCULAS: High resolution electrical characterization of ulsi and advanced semiconductor devices

• Forschungsstelle: EU FRP
• Projektnummer: 99.0551
• Projekttitel Englisch: HERCULAS: High resolution electrical characterization of ulsi and advanced semiconductor devices

Schlüsselwörter (Englisch)

Microelectronics; nanotechnology; extraction of 2D doping profiles; scanning capacitance microscopy; simulation;
Education; Training; Scientific Research; Social Aspects

Alternative Projektnummern (Englisch)

EU project number: HPRN-CT-00031

Forschungsprogramme (Englisch)

EU-programme: 5. Frame Research Programme - 4.1.1 Research training networks

Kurzbeschreibung (Englisch)

See abstract

Partner und Internationale Organisationen (Englisch)

Coordinator: Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC), Leuven (B)

Abstract (Englisch)

Scanning Capacitance Microscopy (SCM) is a scanning probe technique to provide two dimensional dopant profiles of semiconductors. The spatial resolution capabilities of the different operating modes of the SCM applied to unipolar samples have been investigated extensively in the past and suitable quantification tools have been developed (e.g. ScaMsim). Since the electric field generated by the tip strongly distorts the carriers distribution within bipolar samples, a very accurate simulation of the system both in depletion and in accumulation has been performed to provide a correct interpretation of the response of the SCM detector. The theoretical investigations and the physical simulations have been validated by epitaxial PN-samples with very low dopant concentrations to clearly separate the contributions due to the different effects. Diamond-coated cantilevers have been used for SCM as an alternative for metal-coated cantilevers in order to improve the stability of probes. It has been shown that the diamond-coated probes produce an adequate intensity of the dC signal and high contrast for both p- and n-type silicon samples and also provide superior endurance characteristics to metal-coated probes. Dry oxidation by UV exposure at high temperatures has been compared with the wet oxidation process by immersion in hydrogen peroxide. The dry oxidation exhibits better reproducibility, while the wet oxidation shows better homogeneity. The comparison of SCM data with SIMS measurements has demonstrated that diamond-coated probes can be used at least for 1D quantitative measurements. These activities lead to the publication of four papers either at international conferences or in peer-reviewed journals.

Datenbankreferenzen (Englisch)

Swiss Database: Euro-DB of the
State Secretariat for Education and Research
Hallwylstrasse 4
CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland
Tel. [phone]
Swiss Project-Number: 99.0551