Scanning capacitance microscopy (SCM) enables the imaging of the two-dimensional carrier profiles of small transistors. Initial imaging utilized metal-coated probe tips but the limited resolution achievable with these tips due to their size led us to investigate micromachined silicon tips with a smaller tip diameter. Electrical simulations of a pn junction structure probed with semiconducting tips indicate that image improvements result from the semiconductor nature of the silicon tips as well as from the smaller tip size. The tip becomes active in the imaging process as the capacitance–voltage responses of the tip and sample interact to improve image contrast and decrease the dependence of the pn junction locations. SCM images of a 60 nm gate length n-metal–oxide–semiconductor device, obtained using a boron-doped silicon tip, demonstrate these effects.
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14 June 1999
Research Article|
June 14 1999
Electrical simulation of scanning capacitance microscopy imaging of the pn junction with semiconductor probe tips
M. L. O’Malley;
M. L. O’Malley
Lucent Technologies, Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974
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G. L. Timp;
G. L. Timp
Lucent Technologies, Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974
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W. Timp;
W. Timp
Lucent Technologies, Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974
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S. V. Moccio;
S. V. Moccio
Lucent Technologies, Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974
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J. P. Garno;
J. P. Garno
Lucent Technologies, Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974
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R. N. Kleiman
R. N. Kleiman
Lucent Technologies, Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill, New Jersey 07974
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Appl. Phys. Lett. 74, 3672–3674 (1999)
Article history
Received:
January 25 1999
Accepted:
April 21 1999
Citation
M. L. O’Malley, G. L. Timp, W. Timp, S. V. Moccio, J. P. Garno, R. N. Kleiman; Electrical simulation of scanning capacitance microscopy imaging of the pn junction with semiconductor probe tips. Appl. Phys. Lett. 14 June 1999; 74 (24): 3672–3674. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.123217
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