Observation of high aspect ratio (HAR) structures is a difficult challenge in metrology and inspection in semiconductor manufacturing. In imaging HAR trenches using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), obtaining SEM images without information loss due to whiteouts and blackouts is challenging. One reason for the difficulty is that the probe current is constant in conventional SEM imaging. Suppose the probe current is increased to detect more secondary electrons from the bottom of the trench. In that case, excessive secondary electron emission from the top of the trench will result in a whiteout. The SEM equipped with a photocathode electron gun (PC-SEM) can change the probe current on a pixel-by-pixel basis by applying a pulsed electron beam. In this study, we propose two methods of SEM observation for HAR trenches. The first method uses a lower probe current at the top of the trench and a higher probe current at the bottom. With this method, the top and bottom of the trench could be observed simultaneously without any whiteout or blackout. Another method is to adjust the probe current so that the SEM image is in a constant grayscale. In this case, information about the sample appears in the probe current. The image of the probe current captured the trench bottom more clearly than the conventional SEM image under equivalent conditions.
KEYWORDS: Electron beams, Semiconductors, Scanning electron microscopy, Transmission electron microscopy, Laser irradiation, Semiconductor materials, Group III-V semiconductors, Electron microscopes, Vacuum
Semiconductor photocathodes are electron beam sources with versatile electron beam performance such as pulsed structure as well as high beam current with high monochromaticity. Photocathode using GaN semiconductor material has solved the durability problem, resulting in the development of a compact photocathode electron gun suitable for industrial technology. The photocathode electron gun can be retrofitted to existing electron microscopes, has the same brightness as a cold field emitter cathode, and the pulsed beam not only brings selective beam irradiation to arbitrary area in the field of view in SEM imaging, but also allows blur-free TEM imaging of moving samples.
An InGaN photocathode with a negative electron affinity (NEA) surface is suitable for industrial use because of features such as a long quantum efficiency lifetime, availability with a visible laser as an excitation light source, and the presence of a transmission-type structure. The first objective is the development of an InGaN photocathode electron gun that can be mounted on a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the evaluation of the electron beam size at the emission point, maximum emission current, and transverse energy of the electron beam, which are important factors for realizing a high probe current in the SEM. The second objective is the evaluation of emission current stability, while the third objective is the generation of a pulsed electron beam and multi-electron beam from the InGaN photocathode. The parameters of the electron beam from the photocathode electron gun were an emission beam radius of 1 μm, transverse energy of 44 meV, and an emission current of up to 110 μA. Using a high beam current with low transverse energy from the photocathode, a 13 nA probe current with 10 nm SEM resolution was observed with 15 μA emission. At 15 μA, the continuous electron beam emission for 1300 h was confirmed; at 30 μA, the cycle time between the NEA surface reactivations was confirmed to be 90 h with 0.043% stability. Moreover, a 4.4 ns pulsed e-beam with a 4.7 mA beam current was generated, and a 5 × 5 multielectron beam with 12% uniformity was then obtained. The advantages of the InGaN photocathode, such as high electron beam current, low transverse energy, long quantum efficiency lifetime, pulsed electron beam, and multi-electron beam, are useful in industries including semiconductor device inspection tools.
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