Patent ID: 6297503
Filing Date: 2001-10-02
Classification: G01N,G01R,H01J

Abstract:
A method of detecting defects within a semiconductor device comprising the steps of:focusing an ion beam in predetermined directions onto an area of a semiconductor device that is believed to have a suspected defect;milling a portion of the semiconductor device and forming a thin film specimen to be removed from the semiconductor device;removing the thin film specimen from the semiconductor device;placing the thin film specimen onto an insulated film mount;creating electrical connection points on previously unexposed portions of the thin film specimen by depositing a line of conductive material using a focused ion beam; andscanning the surface of the thin film specimen with an electron beam in a scanning electron microscope and analyzing internally generated currents as detected by a suitable external amplifier; anddetermining processing errors which can be identified in the thin film specimen, wherein lateral resolution is about the electron beam size.