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，以提供一种新的计量工具，用于纳米空间分辨率的现场地形、应变和化学分析。半导体行业的特征尺寸缩小要求计量方法必须常规地测量精确到原子尺度的特性。新的材料和几何结构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针尖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针尖作为拉曼散射探测器，极大地简化了拉曼信号的采集和系统配置。通过结合高速AFM方案，该技术允许在线表征制造环境中纳米材料和结构的物理和化学性质，即沟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)演示反射模式RFM用于测量硅晶片的拉曼信号，以及(2)演示在纳米尺寸的特征中测量应力诱导的拉曼位移。该项目不仅将在半导体行业感受到更广泛的影响/商业潜力，而且将在学术界和工业界的许多学科和行业中感受到更广泛的影响/商业潜力。RFM可以用来测量和表征各种各样的纳米材料和结构，例如用于先进半导体工艺的高k和低k介电薄膜以及其他新兴材料(如石墨烯)。它还可以被广泛应用于跨学科，例如，在表面化学中测量纳米颗粒的均匀性或优化自组装单分子膜。RFM技术还具有对单个生物分子进行原位成像的能力，例如用于实时监测细胞上的膜蛋白动态，这将在生物医学和临床研究中提供前所未有的应用。一种可靠的无标记成像工具，能够在分子水平上识别化学键信息，可能会在许多基础和应用生物科学领域带来革命性的进展，包括药物发现、蛋白质组学、结构生物学和个性化医学。与涉及高分辨率显微镜的其他混合仪器相比，RFM技术将更容易实施，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.