Cross-section of a Semiconductor Trench

A trench in a semiconductor device is cross-sectioned and imaged by Vista-IR. Two different materials are highlighted based on the unique IR absorption bands for each material. Twenty five spectra are acquired across the interface of the two material, with 10 nm spacing between each spectrum. Looking at the peak at 1100 cm⁻¹, the transition from one material to the other takes place at spectra between 18 and 20; the gradual transition between these spectra shows that PiFM provides local chemical information with sub-10 nm spatial resolution.

Analyzing a Cross-section of a Semiconductor Trench