Practical quantitative scanning microwave impedance microscopy of semiconductor devices

Scanning microwave impedance microscopy (sMIM) is an emerging electrical mode for scanning probe microscopy (SPM). We apply the technique to the profiling of dopants in semiconductor samples with sub-micron spatial resolution. This work demonstrates the practical application of sMIM for quantitative measurement of the dopant concentration profile in production semiconductor devices. A planar dopant calibration sample is used to calibrate the sMIM prior to performing the measurements on an “unknown” production device. We utilize nanoscale C-V curves to establish a calibration curve for both n- and p-type carriers in a single reference and apply the calibration curve to an “unknown” device presenting the measurements in units of doping concentration.