SBIR Phase I: Rapid-scanning Ultrafast Imaging Microscope for Material Inspection

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛的商业影响将开发和展示一种新的成像显微镜技术，用于下一代半导体缺陷检测和材料表征。这项技术基于超快光谱学，是唯一能够在快速栅格扫描图像上测量功能材料参数的技术。半导体工业依靠过程控制来维持高产量，并防止故障在制造过程中传播。半导体检查代表着一个规模近50亿美元的市场，估计占半导体行业支出的15%。随着半导体器件中使用的材料不断发展，检测技术也必须不断发展。许多用于各种应用的下一代材料，如太阳能和显示器，并不是原始的单晶，它们的检测需要新技术。该项目的提出将推动下一代材料的发展。该项目的智力优势是通过超快光谱研究实时成像的平移。该项目的主要挑战是，在单点进行超快光谱扫描通常需要几秒钟到几分钟的时间，一个有用的成像系统必须在包含数千个像素的大范围内对点激励进行栅格扫描。这项第一阶段的工作将为这项技术开发一种方法和指标，使用样本少得多的图像。该项目将探索测量降低半导体功能的陷阱状态和缺陷的方法。性能目标包括将单点光谱分析的速度提高两个数量级。长期目标包括将超快光谱学与显微技术相结合用于材料分析。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop and demonstrate a novel imaging microscopy technique for next-generation semiconductor defect inspection and material characterization. The technique is based on ultrafast spectroscopy and is uniquely able to measure functional material parameters over a rapidly raster-scanned image. The semiconductor industry relies on process control to maintain high yield and to prevent the propagation of faults through the manufacturing process. Semiconductor inspection represents a market of nearly $5 B in size and generates an estimated 15% of spending in the semiconductor industry. As the materials used in semiconductor devices evolve, so too must the inspection techniques. Many next-generation materials for various applications, such as solar energy and displays, are not pristine single crystals, and their inspection requires new technologies. The proposed project will advance the development of the next-generation materials.The intellectual merit of this project is to investigate translation of real-time imaging via ultrafast spectroscopy. The primary challenge of this project is that ultrafast spectroscopy scans at a single point typically take seconds to minutes, and a useful imaging system must raster a point excitation over a wide area containing thousands of pixels. This Phase I effort will develop a method and metrics for this technique, using images with substantially fewer samples. The project will explore methods to measure trapped states and defects that degrade semiconductor functionality. Performance goals include accelerating the speed of single-point spectroscopy by two orders of magnitude. Longer-term goals include integration of ultrafast spectroscopy with microscopy for materials analysis.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.