A comparison of off-axis and in-line electron holography as quantitative dopant profiling techniques

Alison Harrison (1) , Rafal E Dunin-Borkowski (2) , P A Midgley (2)

1 Materials Science
2 Materials Science

Many different dopant-profiling techniques are available for semiconductor device characterisation. However, with length scales shrinking rapidly, only transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques promise to fulfil the spatial resolution required for the characterisation of future device generations. Here we use three advanced TEM techniques, off-axis electron holography, Fresnel imaging (in-line electron holography) and Foucault imaging to examine a focused ion beam prepared silicon p-n junction device. Experiments are carried out on electrically-unbiased samples and with an electrical bias applied in situ in the TEM. Simulations are matched to experimental data to allow quantitative conclusions to be drawn about the underlying electrostatic potential distributions. The off-axis electron holography and Fresnel results are compared in order to assess whether the techniques are consistent with each other, and whether they can be used to provide complementary information about dopant potentials in semiconductor devices.

Mots clés: Physical Sciences

Alison Harrison, Rafal E Dunin-Borkowski, P A Midgley. A comparison of off-axis and in-line electron holography as quantitative dopant profiling techniques. Philosophical Magazine, 2006, 86 (36), pp.5805-5823. ⟨10.1080/14786430600815385⟩. ⟨hal-00513720⟩