AVS 51st International Symposium
    Nanometer-scale Science and Technology Thursday Sessions
       Session NS1-ThA

Paper NS1-ThA5
Imaging of Radiation Effects on an Active Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) Device using Scanning Capacitance Microscopy (SCM)

Thursday, November 18, 2004, 3:20 pm, Room 213C

Session: Nanoscale Imaging
Presenter: C.Y. Nakakura, Sandia National Laboratories
Authors: C.Y. Nakakura, Sandia National Laboratories
M.R. Shaneyfelt, Sandia National Laboratories
R.A. Jones, Sandia National Laboratories
Correspondent: Click to Email
Two-dimensional (2D) imaging of electrical properties using atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based techniques has attracted considerable attention in the semiconductor industry, primarily for 2D-dopant profiling of cross-sectioned device junctions. Scanning capacitance microscopy (SCM) has been most widely used for this purpose by acquiring nanometer-scale, 2D free carrier images, from which dopant information can be extracted. The bulk of reported dopant profiling studies using SCM, however, have been performed on shorted, inoperable devices that only show the static device as fabricated. In this study, we expand on conventional, cross-sectional carrier profiling: first, the images were acquired using a modified SCM to permit carrier profiling of active devices and, second, the devices were measured before and after radiation exposure to visualize the effects on device operation. Understanding radiation effects in semiconductor devices is critical to the development of radiation-hardened integrated circuits used in harsh environments, such as Earth-orbit and outer space. We will demonstrate that SCM is a promising tool for directly imaging the effects of radiation in cross-sectioned, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). Following exposure to radiation, the impact of the radiation-induced charge buildup at the Si/SiO@sub 2@ interface of the SOI substrate is readily observed in the SCM images. The methodology of the active device measurements, as well as the implications of radiation exposure on the operation of these devices, will be discussed. @FootnoteText@ Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.