Applications of synchrotron X-rays in microelectronics industry research

The high flux and density of X-rays produced at synchrotrons provide the microelectronics industry with a powerful probe of the structure and behavior of a wide array of solid materials that are being developed for use in devices of the future. They also are of great use in determining why currently-used materials and processes sometimes fail. This paper describes the X20 X-ray beamline facility operated by IBM at the National Synchrotron Light Source, and presents a series of three industry challenges and results that illustrate the variety of techniques used and problems addressed. The value of this research ranges from solving short-term, technically specific problems to increasing our academic understanding of materials in general. Techniques discussed include high-resolution diffraction, time-resolved diffraction, texture measurements, and grazing-incidence diffraction. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.