Latest Advancements In Nanoscale Ir Spectroscopy For Characterization And Failure Analysis Of Electronic Devices

Abstract Atomic force microscopy infrared (AFM-IR) technology combines the best of both worlds of AFM and IR spectro-microscopy offering high spatial resolution chemical characterization. Recent developments in the AFM-IR technique, such as tapping AFM-IR pushes the spatial resolution limit below 10 nm, making it ideal for chemically characterizing directed self assembly (DSA) components and defects for failure analysis. This paper demonstrates the chemical characterization of DSA nanopatterns using tapping AFM-IR technology with spatial resolution beyond 10 nm. Tapping AFM-IR experiments is performed on different block copolymers routinely used to fabricate directed self-assemblies on Si wafers. Along with chemical mapping, mechanical properties, such as relative stiffness and damping yielding complete chemical and mechanical property information in nanoscale to achieve material contrast, can be simultaneously probed.