MICROSTRUCTURE ANALYSIS TECHNIQUE OF SPECIFIC AREA BY TRANSMISSION ELECTRON-MICROSCOPY

A procedure for preparing a cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrograph of a specific area is outlined. A specific area in a specimen has been very difficult to observe with TEM, because a particular small area cannot be preselected in the conventional specimen preparation technique using mechanical polishing , dimpling and ion milling. The technique in this paper uses a focused ion beam (FIB) to fabricate a cross-sectional specimen at a desired area. The applications of this specimen preparation technique are illustrated for investigations of particles in the process of fabricating devices and degraded aluminum/aluminum vias. The specimen preparation technique using FIB is useful for observing a specific area. This technique is also useful for shortening the time of specimen preparation and observing wide areas of LSI devices.