SEM-Based Nanoprobing on In-Situ Delayered Advanced 10 nm Technology Node IC

Following the trend of continuous structure downsizing, it is becoming increasingly challenging to perform standard failure analyses. For instance, nanoprobing on sub-14 nm technology nodes requires well-prepared samples, ultra-sharp tips and especially thermal and mechanical stability. Moreover, standard mechanical polishing starts to fail on lower metal layers due to their very small thickness. In this paper we propose a method of site-specific gas-assisted homogeneous delayering followed by in-situ nanoprobing measurement in a single FIB/SEM system.