Focused Ion Beam Research Papers (original) (raw)

Joining of dissimilar materials is of increasing interest for a wide range of industrial applications. The automotive industry, in particular, views dissimilar materials joining as a gateway for the implementation of lightweight... more

Joining of dissimilar materials is of increasing interest for a wide range of industrial applications. The automotive industry, in particular, views dissimilar materials joining as a gateway for the implementation of lightweight materials. Specifically, the introduction of aluminum alloy parts into a steel car body requires the development of reliable, efficient and economic joining processes. Since aluminum and steel demonstrate

Deprocessing of Cu conductors with reliable electrical disconnect and without damage to underlying layers of the Integrated Circuits is critical for successful modification of ICs during FIB Circuit Edit. This presentation demonstrates... more

Deprocessing of Cu conductors with reliable electrical disconnect and without damage to underlying layers of the Integrated Circuits is critical for successful modification of ICs during FIB Circuit Edit. This presentation demonstrates performance of Cu line deprocessing achievable in existing 50KV and 30KV Ga FIB tools."

Design and development of biomedical (and other) electronic and micro-electronic devices naturally includes verification and debugging step, where the initial mostly-theoretical design is implemented for the first time, its functionality... more

Design and development of biomedical (and other) electronic and micro-electronic devices naturally includes verification and debugging step, where the initial mostly-theoretical design is implemented for the first time, its functionality tested, performance verified, and possible inconsistencies and mistakes (i.e. “bugs”) are weeded out. Debugging of Integrated Circuits (ICs), Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), and other microelectronic devices implemented in Silicon (Si) or other semiconductor substrate involves process similar to surgical intervention, where focused beam of ions is used as both excision and suturing instrument. Limitations of current state-of-the-art and some of the recent advancements in Si microsurgery will be discussed.

This study reports a number of experiments that were designed to characterize aluminum bond pad surfaces prior to electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG). In the ENIG process, aluminum bond pads need special treatment to achieve... more

This study reports a number of experiments that were designed to characterize aluminum bond pad surfaces prior to electroless nickel immersion gold (ENIG). In the ENIG process, aluminum bond pads need special treatment to achieve successful nickel deposition and provide reliable interconnection of under bump metallurgy in advanced packaging. During this treatment process, the aluminum pad was cleaned, activated and then coated with a layer of zinc. Systematic study was carried out to determine the best parameters, through multiple and various exposure times of the zincation process and zincation solution concentration effect on the Ni/Au surface roughness and aluminum dissolution rate on the bond pad during multiple zincation process. The ball shear strength was evaluated between eutectic 37Pb/63Sn solder ball and under bump metallurgy (UBM) interfaces across multiple zincation process. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM),...

Focused Ion Beam technology and FIB/SEM instrumentation have become commonplace in industrial and academic analytical laboratories. While basic push-button operation of modern computerized FIB instruments is straight-forward, final... more

Focused Ion Beam technology and FIB/SEM instrumentation have become commonplace in industrial and academic analytical laboratories. While basic push-button operation of modern computerized FIB instruments is straight-forward, final results are still heavily dependent on qualification of the operator and thorough planning based on understanding of underlying physical phenomena. We will review underlying principles of Focused Ion Beam technology from the perspective of end-user, discuss analytical and patterning possibilities offered by modern instrumentation, and outline limitations inherent to Focused Ion Beam technology.

The solution? Staying focused might require you to turn your phone off. Or at least put it in airplane mode in another room. Out of sight, out of mind, right

Electron beam (e-beam) fabrication of nanostructures by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is rapidly developing into a top-down nanofabrication method for the sub-5 nm fabrication of structures that cannot usually be realised using... more

Electron beam (e-beam) fabrication of nanostructures by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is rapidly developing into a top-down nanofabrication method for the sub-5 nm fabrication of structures that cannot usually be realised using resist based lithographic techniques or by the focused ion beam patterning methods. We describe the usage of a variety of e-beam shapes, including point and elliptical line focus, as well as a comparison of LaB6 and field-emission guns (FEGs), to achieve versatile sculpting of nanodot arrays, nanobridges and nanotips. We operate our patterning on free-standing nickel (Ni) thin film laterally connected to a silicon (Si) substrate as well as to free-standing Ni nanotips, where we achieve a novel three-dimensional (3D) nano-sculpting methodology.

In this work, we report on a single ZnO nanowire-based nanoscale sensor fabricated using focused ion beam (FIB/SEM) instrument. We studied the diameter dependence of the gas response and selectivity of ZnO nanowires (NWs) synthesized by... more

In this work, we report on a single ZnO nanowire-based nanoscale sensor fabricated using focused ion beam (FIB/SEM) instrument. We studied the diameter dependence of the gas response and selectivity of ZnO nanowires (NWs) synthesized by chemical vapor phase growth method. The photoluminescence (PL) measurements were used to determine the deep levels related to defects which are presented in the

Various FIB tools are available from multiple Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to use in sample preparation, patterning, lithography, 3D imaging, and other analytical and prototyping applications of FIB/SEM instruments. Multitude... more

Various FIB tools are available from multiple Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to use in sample preparation, patterning, lithography, 3D imaging, and other analytical and prototyping applications of FIB/SEM instruments. Multitude of equipment choices presents end-users with necessity of evaluating different tools for suitability to the variety of tasks and operational environment of a particular lab. Such evaluation is made difficult by differences between OEM approaches to instrument design, operation, specsmanship, and often complicated by "canned demo" modus operandi practiced by manufacturers to showcase strong features of the equipment. The presented approach of quantifiable comparative testing was designed to collect a range of critical parameters characterizing performance of FIB/SEM instruments under evaluation, while also allowing OEMs to showcase all the strong features of equipment typically included in the "canned demo" scenarios.

A novel via hole metallization method is presented, where the vias are drilled in polyimide/copper (PI/Cu) flexible printed circuit boards (PCBs) using KrF excimer pulses, and then pre-metallized using a scanned Ar+ laser. In the... more

A novel via hole metallization method is presented, where the vias are drilled in polyimide/copper (PI/Cu) flexible printed circuit boards (PCBs) using KrF excimer pulses, and then pre-metallized using a scanned Ar+ laser. In the premetallization step, a thin (20–50 nm) and narrow (2–10 μm) palladium layer is deposited on the polyimide-covered side of the PCB and on the wall of the vias using the laser-induced chemical liquid-phase deposition method. After the pretreatment, the Pd covered holes are immersed into a Cu electroless plating bath. Plated copper vertical and horizontal interconnects are analyzed by optical microscopy, focused ion beam, profilometry and resistivity measurements. The results show that the copper deposits formed on the pre-metallized surface of PCBs have high chemical purity, excellent adhesion and almost bulk conductivity, but, so far, due to unclear reasons, high through hole resistance.