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Laboratory High-Contrast X-ray Microscopy of Copper Nanostructures Enabled by a Liquid-Metal-Jet X-ray Source

  • High-resolution imaging of Cu/low-k on-chip interconnect stacks in advanced micro-electronic products is demonstrated using full-field transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM). The comparison of two lens-based laboratory X-ray microscopes that are operated at two different photon energies, 8.0 keV and 9.2 keV, shows a contrast enhancement for imaging of copper nanostructures embedded in insulating organosilicate glass of a factor of 5 if 9.2 keV photons are used. Photons with this energy (Ga-Kα radiation) are generated from a Ga-containing target of a laboratory X-ray source applying the liquid-metal-jet technology. The 5 times higher contrast compared to the use of Cu-Kα radiation (8.0 keV photon energy) from a rotating anode X-ray source is caused by the fact that the energy of the Ga-Kα emission line is slightly higher than that of the Cu-K absorption edge (9.0 keV photon energy). The use of Ga-Kα radiation is of particular advantage for imaging of copper interconnects with dimensions from several 100 nm down to several 10 nm in aHigh-resolution imaging of Cu/low-k on-chip interconnect stacks in advanced micro-electronic products is demonstrated using full-field transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM). The comparison of two lens-based laboratory X-ray microscopes that are operated at two different photon energies, 8.0 keV and 9.2 keV, shows a contrast enhancement for imaging of copper nanostructures embedded in insulating organosilicate glass of a factor of 5 if 9.2 keV photons are used. Photons with this energy (Ga-Kα radiation) are generated from a Ga-containing target of a laboratory X-ray source applying the liquid-metal-jet technology. The 5 times higher contrast compared to the use of Cu-Kα radiation (8.0 keV photon energy) from a rotating anode X-ray source is caused by the fact that the energy of the Ga-Kα emission line is slightly higher than that of the Cu-K absorption edge (9.0 keV photon energy). The use of Ga-Kα radiation is of particular advantage for imaging of copper interconnects with dimensions from several 100 nm down to several 10 nm in a Cu/SiO2 or Cu/low-k backend-of-line stack. Physical failure analysis and reliability engineering in the semiconductor industry will benefit from high-contrast X-ray images of sub-µm copper structures in microchips.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author: Kristina KutukovaORCiD, Bartlomiej Lechowski, Joerg Grenzer, Peter Krueger, André ClausnerORCiD, Ehrenfried ZschechORCiD
DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/nano14050448
ISSN:2079-4991
Title of the source (English):Nanomaterials
Document Type:Scientific journal article peer-reviewed
Language:English
Year of publication:2024
Tag:X-ray microscopy; copper interconnects; image contrast; nanostructure; physical failure analysis; radiography
Volume/Year:14
Issue number:5
Article number:488
Way of publication:Open Access
Faculty/Chair:Fakultät 1 MINT - Mathematik, Informatik, Physik, Elektro- und Informationstechnik / AG Nanomaterialien
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