SBIR Phase II: Focused Beam Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence Analysis Using Doubly-Curved Crystals

该小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目旨在满足微电子行业对改进晶片污染分析的需求。晶片污染控制是超大规模集成电路(ULSI)技术的关键，人们迫切需要一种非破坏性分析工具，比传统的全X射线荧光(TXRF)方法具有更高的灵敏度和空间分辨率。一种新的技术，聚焦光束TXRF，可以满足这一重要的市场需求。基于点聚焦环形晶体光学原理，聚焦光束TXRF将使空间分辨率提高100倍以上，对硅上局部污染物的检测灵敏度比传统TXRF方法提高30倍。这项技术还有可能对硅上的低水平铝、钠和其他低Z元素进行分析，而传统的TXRF和其他技术无法有效地解决这些问题。在本项目中，将利用环形Si(220)晶体提供的WL1激发收集初步聚焦束TXRF数据，以证明过渡金属探测的灵敏度和分辨率的提高。此外，还将进行理论计算，以确定铝和钠检测在10^9到10^10原子/厘米2水平控制晶片污染的可行性。聚焦束TXRF分析在微电子工业中具有商业应用，包括高分辨率的局域和均匀污染物控制。这些污染物包括许多重要的元素，如过渡金属、铝、钠等低Z元素。通过能够识别这些污染物，硅片的质量可以得到改善。对于一个价值数十亿美元的行业来说，这将是一个巨大的成本节约。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project proposes to meet the demand from the microelectronics industry for improved wafer contamination analysis. Wafer contamination control is critical for Ultra Large Scale Integrated (ULSI) technology and there is a strong demand for a non-destructive analytical tool with improved sensitivity and spatial resolution over the conventional total x-ray fluorescence (TXRF) method. A new technique, focused beam TXRF, can meet this important market need. Based on point-focusing toroidal crystal optics, focused beam TXRF will improve the spatial resolution by a factor of more than 100 and provide 30 times better detection sensitivity for local contaminants on Si as compared to the conventional TXRF method. This technique also has potential for low-level Al, Na and other low Z elements analysis on Si that cannot be addressed effectively by the conventional TXRF and other techniques. In this project, preliminary focused beam TXRF data will be collected using WL1 excitation provided by a toroidal Si (220) crystal to demonstrate the improvement of sensitivity and resolution for transition metal detection. Theoretical calculation will be also carried out to determine the feasibility for Al and Na detection for wafer contamination control at 10^ 9 to 10^10 atoms/cm^2 level.Focused beam TXRF analysis has commercial applications in the microelectronics industry for wafer contamination control including localized and homogeneous contaminants with high resolution. These contaminants include many important elements such as transition metals, Al, Na and other low Z elements. By being able to identify these contaminants, the quality of silicon wafers can be improved. This will be a tremendous cost savings to a multi-billion dollar industry.