The Overview of the Impacts of Electron Radiation on Semiconductor Failure Analysis by SEM, FIB and TEM

The paper briefly overviewed electron-beam radiation damage and its impacts on physical failure analysis by SEM, FIB and TEM. Based on our electron radiation study on some typical electron-beam sensitive materials, we discussed some interesting results associated with electron radiation damage to Lk/ULK, silicon nitride and CoFeB thin film materials in semiconductor and MRAM devices. The details included radiation induced microstructure changes., material diffusion and phase transformation. The underlying mechanism was also briefly discussed for electron radiation damage to different materials.