SBIR Phase I: Nanometer Scale Raman Force Microscopy for Topographic, Strain, and Chemical Analysis

这个小型创新研究第一阶段项目旨在证明拉曼力显微镜（RFM）的可行性，为纳米空间分辨率的原位地形、应变和化学分析提供新的计量工具。半导体工业中特征尺寸的减小要求计量方法必须常规地测量到原子尺度的特性。新型材料和几何形状增加了测量的复杂性。RFM技术是拉曼显微镜和原子力显微镜（AFM）的结合，AFM尖端提供纳米尺度的光源来产生受激拉曼散射，同时测量拉曼散射产生的力梯度。使用AFM尖端作为拉曼散射探测器，大大简化了拉曼信号采集和系统配置。通过结合高速AFM方案，该技术允许在制造环境中在线表征纳米级材料和结构的物理和化学性质，即通道层中的应力和化学表征缺陷。拟议的第一阶段研究的目标是(1)展示用于硅晶片拉曼信号测量的反射模式RFM，(2)展示纳米尺寸特征中应力诱导的拉曼位移的测量。该项目的广泛影响/商业潜力将不仅在半导体行业，而且在学术界和工业界的许多学科和行业中都能感受到。RFM可用于测量和表征各种纳米级材料和结构，例如用于先进半导体工艺的高、低k介电薄膜和其他新兴材料（如石墨烯）。它也可以广泛应用于各个学科，例如用于测量纳米颗粒的均匀性或表面化学中自组装单层的优化。RFM技术还具有原位成像单个生物分子的能力，例如用于细胞膜蛋白动力学的实时监测，这将在生物医学和临床研究中提供前所未有的实用性。一种可靠的无标签成像工具，具有在分子水平上识别化学键信息的能力，将有可能在基础和应用生物科学的许多领域带来革命性的进步，包括药物发现、蛋白质组学、结构生物学和个性化医学。与其他涉及高分辨率显微镜的混合仪器相比，RFM技术将更容易实现，从而为学术和研究机构提供负担得起的仪器。

This Small Innovation Research Phase I project aims to demonstrate the feasibility of the Raman Force Microscope (RFM) to provide a new metrology tool for in situ topographic, strain, and chemical analysis with nanometer spatial resolution. Feature size reduction in the semiconductor industry requires that metrology methods must routinely measure properties down to the atomic scale. Novel materials and geometries add to the complexity of measurements. RFM technology is a combination of Raman microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM), where an AFM tip provides a nanometer scale light source to generate stimulated Raman scattering, and at the same time measures the force gradient arising from the Raman scattering. The use of the AFM tip as the Raman scattering detector significantly simplifies Raman signal acquisition and system configuration. By combining a high-speed AFM scheme, this technology allows for in-line characterization of physical and chemical properties of nanoscale materials and structures in the manufacturing environment, i.e. stress in the channel layer and chemical characterization defects. The objectives of the proposed Phase I study are (1) to demonstrate reflection mode RFM for Raman signal measurement of Si wafers and (2) to demonstrate measurement of stress-induced Raman shifts in nanometer-sized features.The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be felt not only in the semiconductor industry but across many disciplines and industries, both in academia and industry. RFM can be used to measure and characterize a wide variety of nanoscale materials and structures, e.g. high- and low-k dielectric films and other emerging materials (such as graphene) used in advanced semiconductor processes. It can be also widely used across disciplines, e.g. for the measurement of nanoparticle homogeneity or optimization of self-assembled monolayers in surface chemistry. The RFM technique also has the capability to image individual biomolecules in situ, such as for the real-time monitoring of membrane protein dynamics on cells, which will provide unprecedented utility in biomedical and clinical research. A reliable label-free imaging tool with the capability to identify chemical bond information at the molecular level will potentially bring about revolutionary advances in many fields of basic and applied biological science, including drug discovery, proteomics, structural biology, and personalized medicine. The RFM technique will be simpler to implement as compared to other hybrid instruments involving high resolution microscopy, resulting in an affordable instrument for academic and research institutions.