Patent ID: 7112288

Claim:
A method of inspecting a semiconductor wafer, comprising: sectioning the wafer to expose a sectioned surface of interest: etching the exposed sectioned surface using an anisotropic etch process; and inspecting the etched sectioned surface, wherein etching the exposed sectioned surface comprises performing a reactive ion etch process on the sectioned surface, wherein the reactive ion etch process comprises CF 4 , O 2 , and CHF 3 gases, and wherein the reactive ion etch process comprises providing the CF 4 gas at a flow rate of about 3.5 sccm or more and about 6.5 sccm or less, the O 2 gas at a flow rate of about 2 sccm or more and about 4 sccm or less, and the CHF 3 gas at a flow rate of about 28 sccm or more and about 52 sccm or less.