SBIR Phase II: Integrated Nano-Electro-Mechanical Scanning Probes for Failure Analysis of the 10-Nanometer Node and Beyond

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目将开发并商业化一套突破性的探针和探测平台，用于半导体器件和薄膜材料的成像和探测，在100纳米以下的尺度上，传统技术受到挑战。由此产生的产品将允许客户在纳米尺度上进行丰富的测试，其成本和时间是传统平台所需的一小部分，例如扫描电子显微镜（SEM），扫描探针显微镜（SPM）和一系列基于这些技术的自动化测试设备（ATE）。一系列领域的小型化正在推动设备和材料的发展，其长度范围越来越小。包括移动设备和物联网在内的多种大规模趋势正在推动纳米级工程的空前规模。现在大部分工作都依赖于单尖端SPM，它已经发展成为一种广泛的仪器，用于分析物理、化学和电学性质，以及检测和隔离缺陷。这项工作的重点是多重集成尖端（MiT）技术，它采用了一种完全不同的方法，以更快、更简单、更具成本效益的平台，在1微米以下的长度尺度上实现更丰富的测试范围。考虑到大型设备的安装基础，我们将重点放在与适配器相结合的探头上，这些适配器可插入最流行的sem和spm。这些探针极大地扩展了现有系统的功能，并且具有较低的接受门槛，价格适中，并且可以无缝集成到标准行业平台中。将开发一系列探头，以满足半导体和薄膜市场的大批量需求，从用于薄膜电气特性的4尖器件开始，以及用于探测集成电路的可配置或不可配置的3-4尖器件。它们将提供各种尺寸和几何形状，目前从数百纳米到65纳米，并在一年内扩展到10纳米以下。在第二阶段，探头功能将得到增强，使耦合成像和探测设计能够在AFM模式下工作。通过与lighthouse客户的共同开发，产品组合将不断扩展到额外的二维和三维几何形状。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will develop and commercialize a breakthrough suite of probes and probing platforms for the imaging and probing of semiconductor devices and thin film materials at scales below 100 nm, where conventional techniques are challenged. The resulting products will allow customers to perform a rich range of tests at the nano-scale at costs and times that are a small fraction of those required for conventional platforms such as scanning electron microscopes (SEM), scanning probe microscopes (SPM), and a range of automated test equipment (ATE) based on these technologies. Miniaturization across a range of sectors is driving the development of devices and materials at increasingly minute length scales. Multiple large-scale trends including mobile devices and the internet-of-things are driving an unprecedented volume of engineering at the nanoscale. Much of this is now dependent on the single-tip SPM that has evolved into a broad array of instruments for the analysis of physical, chemical and electrical properties, and to detect and isolate flaws. The Multiple Integrated Tips (MiT) technology that is the focus of this effort takes a radically different approach to enable an even richer range of tests at length scales below one micron, with a faster, simpler and much more cost-effective platform. Given a large install-base of capital equipment, we are focused on probes coupled with adapters that plug into the most popular SEMs and SPMs. These probes significantly expand the functionality of existing systems, and do this with low barriers to acceptance given modest price points and seamless integration into standard industry platforms. A portfolio of probes will be developed to address high-volume needs across the semiconductor and thin film markets, starting with 4-tip devices for the electrical characterization of thin films, and configurable or non-configurable 3-4-tip devices for probing integrated circuits. These will be offered in a variety of sizes and geometries, currently from hundreds of nm to 65 nm, and extending below 10 nanometers within a year. In Phase II, probe functionality will be enhanced to enable coupled imaging and probing with design to operate in AFM mode. The portfolio of products will be continuously expanded to additional two- and three-dimensional geometries via co-development with lighthouse customers.