In-Situ Delayering in Atomic Force Microscope for Sub-20nm Technology Devices

Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is traditionally used for measuring surface roughness and imaging in the nanometer scale. In this paper, we explore a novel technique in using the AFM probe tip to mechanically mill an IC sample to accurately reach a desired layer. Conductive AFM (CAFM) is also employed in conjunction with the in-situ delayering technique as a form of end-pointing and defect isolation. Different key parameters in the AFM were also explored in this paper to obtain an optimized milling process. The optimized process was then implemented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the technique.