Category Archives: Technical

Quantitative cathodoluminescence streamlines chip production

Cathodoluminescence offers a quick, non-invasive approach to determining alloy compositions, exposing defects and uncovering surface contamination

All compound semiconductor chipmakers, from the producers of LEDs, lasers and solar cells to the makers of power and RF devices, need to characterize their material. It is an essential step in the production process that can expose and identify any imperfections in epiwafers, and may save money and reputation, by avoiding the production of devices with dubious characteristics.

Cathodoluminescence is one of the many techniques that may be used to characterise epiwafers. It involves directing a beam of electrons at the surface of a wafer, and collecting, in parallel, secondary electrons and an optical signature. Data extracted from these distinct signals are complementary and offer much insight into the characteristics of the material. For example, imaging cathodoluminescence intensity highlights both buried and surface defects, and the latter can be distinguished from the former using a secondary electron image taken in parallel (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. The Attolight Säntis 300 can provide scanning electron (SE) and panchromatic cathodoluminescence (CL) images. Shown here are 7 µm by 7 µm images of a microLED. The largest dark spot is attributed to a speck of dust, visible in the scanning electron image. Several types of buried defects can be identified in the cathodoluminescence map.

At Attolight of Lausanne, Switzerland, engineers have developed a portfolio of cathodoluminescence instruments, including Säntis 300, an instrument capable of full-wafer mapping (for details of this tool, and its capabilities, see Capabilities and strengths of Säntis 300). Read on to discover how this tool has been used by GaAs solar cell producer Alta Devices to undertake three particular tasks: to speed and trim the costs associated with developing the process for producing AlGaAs layers with well-defined compositions; to detect defects detrimental to device performance; and to expose surface contamination. Note, moreover, that Alta Devices also use cathodoluminescence for new layer design development.

Characterising composition

To optimise the performance of GaAs solar cells, makers of these devices must produce homogeneous layers of AlGaAs alloys with a composition that is very close to the target value. Success in this endeavour often involves measuring the composition of AlGaAs epilayers with Auger electron spectroscopy, but cathodoluminescence offers a superior alternative.

One of the merits, benefitting the engineers at Alta Devices, is the substantial cost saving associated with preparing a reactor for its initial production of solar cells. Prior to the growth of this photovoltaic structure, calibration runs are required, with typically five cycles needed to tune homogeneity, and a further five to tune the ratio of aluminium to gallium in the AlGaAs epilayers.

Savings of around $50,000 are realised by carrying out this initial tuning with cathodoluminescence, rather than the more common approach, Auger electron spectroscopy. The reduced expenditure partly stems from making the measurement in-house, rather than shipping a sample to a specialist that will take several days to provide a result. In addition, as Auger electron spectroscopy is a destructive technique, a cost comes from being unable to re-use the base wafer.

Figure 2. (top) Cross-sectional scanning-electron imaging of a multilayer AlxGa1-xAs stack together with a diagram of the structure. The sample is used for the initial cathodoluminescence calibration with respect to Auger electron spectroscopy. (bottom left) cathodoluminescence spectra extracted from material A and B, exhibiting distinct spectral features. (c) application of the obtained calibration in top view, production mode, to obtain a composition for material B.

Another advantage that cathodoluminescence has over Auger electron spectroscopy is that it offers greater insight into the characteristics of the wafer. Whether undertaking initial tuning, quality control or R&D, cathodoluminescence provides a faster turnaround and better statistics. Operating in an automated step and repeat mode, this technique can determine alloy composition at more than 120 points per wafer in less than 5 minutes. In comparison, it takes an hour to measure one point on a wafer by Auger electron spectroscopy.
Cathodoluminescence is also a very powerful tool in a production environment. As it is non-contact, there is no need to scrap any base material. Instead, samples can be returned to the production batch after they have been inspected. Higher production yields are also possible – measurements typically take much less than 30 minutes, so if there is a problem with the growth process, this should become apparent before a second out-of-specification run begins.

Identifying sub-surface defects…

When producing GaAs solar cells – or, for that matter, power and RF electronic devices – a major concern is the class of defect that can cause a short circuit between the active layers. This type of defect is hard to spot, as it is not visible by either scanning electron microscopy, optical microscopy or atomic force microscopy.


Figure 3. (left) Identifying defects with cathodoluminescence, rather than the electron beam induced current technique, trimmed the turnaround time for defect density determination and process adjustments by a factor of ten. (top right) cathodoluminescence imaging, centred on the GaAs band edge emission, exposes  crystalline defects. Comparing points 1 and 2 with spectral scans (see bottom right), shows that only the GaAs peak suffers a variation. This suggests that the defect spotted at point 2 is actually in the GaAs layer of the stack, not in the other layer emitting the light in the peak to the left of it.

Prior to the availability of cathodoluminescence, defects were identified by an electron beam induced current. However, this measurement has to be carried out on the final device, resulting in a time delay before the process can be adjusted. With cathodoluminescence, this time is divided by ten, because the very same defects can be identified right after the epi process. This significantly speeds the development process and produces material with better properties – and ultimately a better average device quality. The non-contact, non-destructive nature of cathodoluminescence also pays dividends. If the material is good, production steps can proceed on analysed samples.
Obviously, a non-destructive technique doesn’t save money when epiwafers are poor, and need to be scrapped. However, the speed of this technique enables a saving associated with avoiding unnecessary processing on sub-standard wafers.

Yet another merit of cathodoluminescence is the greater insight it offers, compared with the electron beam induced current technique. This aids root cause identification, because with cathodoluminescence, the layer containing the crystalline defect can be identified by its detailed spectral signature.

… and surface contamination

When surface contaminants are on the epiwafers, they tend to have a significant impact on surface luminescence and absorption. Consequently, there is an opportunity to quantify their relative density by cathodoluminescence. This is particularly useful with photonic materials, as contaminants can drag down device efficiency.

The strengths of cathodoluminescence – it is able to expose surface contaminants, uncover defects that can cause a short circuit, and provide a quick, insightful approach to determining alloy compositions – are sure to spur interest in this tool. However, like all inspection instruments, how much value it offers will be debated by potential customers, who will try to consider its capability with new process technologies.

Intuitively, inspection and metrology tools have always been put into the ‘non-value-added’ bin. That’s never the case with process tools, as they can modify production steps, making devices cheaper, better, or possible both. Over the past few decades this stance is softening, with the ratio of investment in metrology tools to process tools climbing from around 2 percent to 10 percent, according to VLSI Research. This is a testament to the critical impact provided by the right inspection and metrology tools.

For the compound semiconductor chipmakers, there is tremendous value in managing point and line defects and measuring and controlling the composition of alloys. The merits of this, highlighted by the efforts of GaAs solar cell maker Alta Devices and detailed in this article, champion the virtues of cathodoluminescence. They are not limited to measuring GaAs solar cells, but extend to GaAs photonics and all compound semiconductor devices, and can be summed up as three key strengths. They are: a faster turnaround in R&D and process development, speeding the time to market for new technologies; a non-invasive nature, which enables more frequent process control with no impact on production, while avoiding scrapping analysed samples and slashing the cost of metrology; and improved process metrology statistics, enabling tighter process control and directly impacting production quality, so a greater proportion of devices go into top-selling bins. All these assets make a meaningful impact by improving a fab’s balance sheet.

BY CHRISTIAN MONACHON AND SYLVAIN MUCKENHIRN FROM ATTOLIGHT AND HASTI MAJIDI AND CHRIS FRANCE FROM ALTA DEVICES

Award for work using micro manipulator

Geophysical Laboratory’s Zachary Geballe Receives Seventh Postdoctoral innovation and Excellence Award

The Geophysical Laboratory’s Postdoctoral Associate Zachary Geballe has been honored with Carnegie’s seventh Postdoctoral Innovation and Excellence (PIE) Award. These prizes are made through nominations from the departments and are chosen by the Office of the President. Geballe, in Viktor Struzhkin’s lab, was awarded the prize for his scientific innovations and community service to the Broad Branch Road (BBR) campus.

Zack works on developing methods to measure the heat capacities of metals and silicates at high pressures. This work applies to developing new materials and studying the deep interiors of planets.   He developed a pioneering technique to measure heat in a diamond anvil cell (DAC) by using a method called the alternating current 3rd harmonic method. The work was published in two recent papers in the Journal of Applied Physics. Additionally, he devised new, sophisticated sample loading procedures into the DAC with micro-manipulator equipment. The new approach has changed the way the group loads very small samples for high-pressure experiments.

The nomination stated that “Zack is much more than just a very skillful and dedicated experimentalist, he is also the leader of our weekly Bread and Cheese seminar with research updates from our own scientists and discussions of high-impact papers from other groups around the world. “

Additionally, Zack was a founding organizer of postdoc-led poster sessions at the BBR campus (see photos and details from 20152016, and 2017), which have featured the work of nearly all the researchers and sparked new collaborations, approaches, and teamwork.

Carnegie President Matthew Scott remarked, “This cycle of nominations was particularly strong and it was a difficult choice. Zack’s exceptionally creative approaches to scientific innovation and his extraordinary volunteer efforts have made a significant contribution to the sense of community at BBR, making him the high caliber of researcher and colleague envisioned for the PIE awards to recognize. I congratulate him on his accomplishments.”

Micro Support Users Meeting – Wrap up

We had the first North American Micro Support Users Meeting on Thursday, May 10th at  Argonne National Laboratory.  This was an opportunity to hear about how users have been using their Micro Support system, to learn about new developments coming down the road, and to share experiences and techniques.

Here are some highlights from the event:

Vitali Prakapenka

Our host Vitali showed off GSECARS can create conditions equivalent to the pressure-temperature range of the Earth’s deep interior.  The center of the process is the Diamond Anvil (in gray below) Micro Support’s Axis Pro micromanipulator is a key tool in loading this cell for high-pressure studies.

Here Vitali is illustrating the size of the culet that is the target of our operation and how smaller culets enable measurements at higher pressure compared to larger culets of the past.

 Christopher Snead 

NASA curator Cristopher Snead encounters astromaterials of all sizes. Due to the cost and difficulty of these missions, the samples must be handled with great care and delicacy.  The Micro Support Axis Pro micromanipulator enables handling of these samples – the capabilities of the Axis Pro to operate inside a glovebox is critical for future NASA astromaterial work.

Ross Hrubiak

Ross works at HP-CAT and provided an overview of all the services that the lab has available along with information on where their line is located on the synchrotron.

Steve Barnett

Steve provided an overview of major tools available with the Axis Pro system and had important news about upcoming enhancements for the Micromanipulator including a new version of the operating compatible with windows 10.

Announcements for Micromanipulator

  • New higher resolution camera. This will allow for magnifications above 3200X.
  • New operating software. The new software operates under Windows 10.
  • New User Interface (UI). The whole UI is changing to improve the experience. This includes placing your working image in the center of the screen and moving some menues to the sides.
  • Navigation Map. The Navigation Map is now extended to allow for tiling a 10 x 10 set of images to provide a larger area for visual imaging..

Workshop

After a quick pizza/salad lunch, we moved to the Building where HP-CAT and GSECRS are located.   In this building, we had three systems set up in different locations where attendees could learn different techniques and try out different tools that were available.

Overall this was a highly successful event and we are hoping to have a similar Users Meeting in 2019.

 

 

Luceo Fullauto StrainEye LSM-9000S

Luceo Fullauto StrainEye LSM-9000s

Fullauto StrainEye LSM-9000S is a fully automatic 2D-measuring device which measures retardation values and the direction of a slow axis in a transparent body having strain and birefringence therein. LSM-900s is equipped with 6 times optical zoom lens.

In order to measure direction and birefringence, conventionally the visual observation type polariscope using the Senarmont method is used. As well, our in-house manufactured product, Semiauto Senarmont which performs semi-automatic operations with the analyzer only manually rotated is also used.

The Senarmont method is an inspection method for measuring retardation quantitatively. An operator rotates the analyzer so that brightness of the part to be measured changes from the brightest state to darkest state, and measures its retardation by rotating the analyzer angularly. However, this conventional type has a problem such as the difference in decision of the brightness due to the difference in the condition during the measurement and also due to the difference in skill of each operator. Moreover, in Semiauto Senalmont, although the accuracy of measurement has improved from the visual observation type, the area to be measured is defined to the specific small portion in an image.

This Fullauto StrainEye makes it possible to start measuring immediately by only putting a sample on the polarizer. Therefore, retardation values and the direction of the slow axis can be measured easily. The measurement result is not influenced by each pixel of differences of personal skill. Not only a specific part is not subjected to the measurement but all of each pixel of a built-in CCD camera measures the entire detecting part. Since the direction of retardation and a slow axis are 2D-displayed on a monitor, those direction states are recognized immediately by the operator.

This instrument is suitable for measuring small samples since possible picture area is optionally variable from 60mm x 60mm to 10mm x 10mm based on being equipped with x6 magnification optical zoom lens for taking images.

This device is connected with a PC, and it is therefore feasible to save not only the measured data but also the observed image data easily.

With the use of super-luminescent LED as a light source, this detector is designed for long life and low power consumption. Accordingly maintenance and replacement of the light source as well as running costs can be reduced or dispensed with all together.

Specification

Size W200☓D280☓H595mm
Weight 11kg
Circulary polarizing plate size W70☓D70mm
Sample placement space height 0~70mm
Inspection Method Rotating analyzer method
Setting Wavelength 590nm
Repeat accrary σ=1nm
Measurement area size Varible (60×60~10×10mm)
Effective pixels 1100☓1100
Other Light Source:high-luminanceLED
PowerSorce:INPUT 100~240VAC 50/60Hz  OUTPUT 24VDC 1.5A
Component:Mainbody,PC,Cables
Accessory:Main body cover, AC Adapter (GS40A24-P1J)
OS:Windows7(64bit)/Windows8.1(64bit)
The latest movie:H28 製品技術大賞歪検査器「フルオートストレインアイ」Movie Fullauto StrainEye LSM-9000LE

Micro Support Users Meeting – May 10, 2018

This workshop will bring together scientists from throughout the U.S. to share best practices in their micro-manipulation work.

Through this Workshop, users will learn about valuable techniques from others who practice the art and discuss future developments that will allow for extensions of their work/research.

Attendance at the Micro Support Users Meeting is Free

The event is a satellite meeting of the
2018 Advanced Photon Source | Center for Nanoscale Materials Users Meeting.  Main Meeting attendance is not required to join the Micro Support Users meeting.

 

For more information click here.

Or to register, please contact:

Steve Barnett
Barnett Technical Services
Phone: 916-897-2441
Email info@barnett-technical.com