A SOLECON L AB SS EM n n pp nnn p p n n SOLECON LABORATORIES INCORPORATED An Introduction to Spreading Resistance Analysis and its Application in the Semiconductor Industry Sheila Loftis Dan Dickey Solecon Labs 770 Trademark Dr Reno, NV 89521 (775) 853-5900 www.solecon.com Cover SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN nnn A SOLECON L AB SS EM SPREADING RESISTANCE ANALYSIS REQUEST FORM Priority: High o Normal o Company Engineer Mailing Address Tel # AR IN Date (Mail Stop too, please) (surcharge) Purchase Order # Message # (please!) Fax # Number of Samples _______________ Sample # Total Number of Profiles _______________ Approximate structure expected from surface down: Type Depth Type Depth Type Depth Type Depth email Maximum Depth of Interest Circle Substrate Type P N <111> <100> P N <111> <100> P N <111> <100> P N <111> <100> P N <111> <100> P N <111> <100> P N <111> <100> P N <111> <100> Hard copy carrier concentration plots are supplied automatically. Also available are… Hard Copy: o Resistivity Plot, o Resistance Plot, o Data Table Soft Copy: o Text File(s), o Image File(s) -via:- o 3½" DOS, o E-mail Reference Job # (if any): Special Instructions: (Any specific region of the profile of greater importance than the rest?) If device wafer, please indicate locations required by a sketch below or by attaching a photo or drawing . Sketch: FillingSRAR1 Circle Crystal Orientation SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 A SOLECON L AB SS EM 1. Solecon Labs privacy policy. 2. Provide us with as much information as possible. 3. An appropriate bevel angle is needed. 4. Solecon strives for over 20 data points per layer. 5. A shallow emitter at .2µm on base at .4µm on epi/buried layer at 5.5µm on p-type substrate. What are you really interested in? FillingSRAR2 SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN Filling out our request form: A SOLECON L AB SS EM EPI BU LA RIED YE R B A S E E M IT TE R ISOLATION Bipolar1 SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN Shallow Profile of the Bipolar Structure A SOLECON L AB SS EM N- EPI P substrate TER EASMEIT B N+ BURIED LAYER P+ IS O LA TI O N ISOLATION Bipolar2 SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN Deep Profile of the Bipolar Structure A SOLECON L AB SS EM AR IN Bipolar Transistor 10 20 nnn nnnnnn n n 10 20n n n S S 10 19 S n n nn n nnnn n nnn nn n nn nn nnn n nnn nn n nn nn nn n n nn n nn n nn n n n nn n n n n n n n n n n n 10 19 10 18 n pp p pp pp p p p p p p p 10 17 p n nn n n n nn nnnnnnnnn nnnnnnnnnn nnnnnnnnnnnnnnn n n n nnnn n n n nn n n nn n n n n 10 16 10 15 10 140 Bipolar3 .2 .4 .6 .8 DEPTH - microns 1 1.2 Carrier Concentration in cm -3 Carrier Concentration in cm -3 n 10 18 n 10 17 p p p n n n n n n nnnn nn n n 10 16 n n n 10 15 PPPPPPP n PPPP P P n P 10 14 0 1 2 3 4 DEPTH - microns SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 5 6 A SOLECON L AB SS EM 1. We measure from full wafers to a millimeter square. 2. Pattern wafers and backups. Beveling: 1. Your samples are mounted on angled beveling blocks. 2. Samples should be beveled immediately before probing, to avoid interference from native oxide. Size of pattern: 1. Our minimum requirements are 20µm wide x 100µm long. 2. The smaller the pattern size the greater the compromise. 3. For this reason we suggest dedicated spreading resistance test patterns which are 50 x 500µm. Sizes SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN How much of the sample do we need? A SOLECON L AB SS EM DedTPs SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN Dedicated SRA Test Patterns A SOLECON L AB SS EM M E T A J L U L NU CR TG IO IC NA L Osmium or Tungsten Carbide Probes ype I T g n i p Do ype II T g n i p Do Sample Bevel SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN Schematic diagram of a spreading resistance measurement on a beveled sample A SOLECON L AB SS EM With a Few Modifications, the Spreading Resistance Set-Up Can Determine “N” or “P”. Polarity and magnitude of the open circuit (Seebeck) voltage determined M E T A J L U L NU CR TG IO IC NA L One probe is heated. ype I T g n i p Do ype II T g n i p Do Sample HotProbe SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN Carrier Type Determination A SOLECON L AB SS EM Optical SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN Optical Profilometer view of a spreading resistance measurement on a beveled sample A SOLECON L AB SS EM BirdsEye SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN Birds Eye View of SRA Sample and Probes A SOLECON L AB SS EM 1. 2 probe tips made of tungsten carbide are used. 2. The probe tips are shaped so that they can be positioned within 20um of each other. 3. Each probe tip is mounted on the end of a separate arm. 4. Each arm pivots on a kinematic bearing system that eliminates lateral motion or "scrubbing" as it contacts the sample. 5. Probe tips are lowered gently onto the sample. 6. Because of the small contact area, pressure is in excess of a million pounds per square inch. 7. 5 millivolts are applied across the probes and the resistance is measured. Probing SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN Probing A SOLECON L AB SS EM L rL R = pr 2 r where r is the bulk resistivity in ohm-cm . SPREADING RESISTANCE r R = 2a Linear a L SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN LINEAR CURRENT FLOW A SOLECON L AB SS EM s a a t r R = pt ln s a D. H. Dickey, NBS SP 400-48 ThinLayer SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN Two Probes on a Thin Layer (t<a): A SOLECON L AB SS EM AR IN What is the significance of resistivity? In a semiconductor it is related to the concentration of electrons and holes: 1 s = = nqm e + pqm p r And from that, the dopant concentration can be approximated. 1 N @n@ rqme Conductivity SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 A SOLECON L AB SS EM AR IN 107 n<111> n<100> 106 p<111> p<100> Calibration Chart (NIST Traceable Si Bulk Standards) 105 Measured Resistance (ohms) Spreading Resistance vs. Resistivity 104 103 102 10 1 .0001 .001 .01 0.1 1 Resistivity (ohm-cm) CalibCurves1 SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 10 100 1000 A SOLECON L AB SS EM AR IN Calibration Data for Three Probe Loads 107 107 n<111> n<100> n<111> n<100> 106 p<111> p<100> 106 n<111> n<100> p<111> p<100> p<111> p<100> 105 Measured Resistance (ohms) Measured Resistance (ohms) 105 104 103 102 10 104 103 102 2.5g 10 2.5g 10g 10g 20g 1 .0001 1 .001 .01 0.1 1 Resistivity (ohm-cm) CalibCurves2 10 100 1000 .0001 20g .001 .01 0.1 1 Resistivity (ohm-cm) SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 10 100 1000 A SOLECON L AB SS EM (Measured resistance is dominated by the lateral current flow) 600W s a a 500 t R = Measured Resistance 400 r pt ln s a 300 Sample #1 284ohms/sq Sample #2 126ohms/sq 200 Sample #3 56.4ohms/sq 100 0 1 10 100 1000 Probe Spacing - microns After: Dickey, NBS SP 400-48 p16 Spacing SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN Probe Spacing Experiment on Relatively Thin Layers A SOLECON L AB SS EM es. Epi ubstrate stivity S e) i s e R Low typ doping (same Sample Measured Resistance in Ohms ce rfa str ate Int e i— Su b Ep High R AR IN High Resisitivity Epi 10 8 10 7 10 6 10 5 10 4 10 3 10 2 10 1 . Bevel Edge Probing HighRho1 “Raw Data” SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 A SOLECON L AB SS EM 10 10 8 10 4 7 10 6 Data Reduction 5 10 4 10 3 10 2 Resistivity (ohm-cm) Measured Resistance in Ohms 10 10 AR IN High Resisitivity Epi (continued) 10 nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn nnnn nnnnn nnn nn nn nnn nn n n nn 3 n n n n n n n n 2 n n n 10 1 10 0 n 10 -1 . n NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN 10 1 10 -2 0 Bevel Edge “Raw Data” HighRho2 10 20 30 40 DEPTH - microns Resistivity Plot SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 50 60 A SOLECON L AB SS EM 10 4 10 nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn nnnn nnnnn nnn nn nn nnn nn n n nn 3 n n n n n n n n 2 n NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN 10 17 -3 -3 Carrier Concentration Calculated Using Published Carrier Mobility Values n n 10 1 18 n Carrier Concentration (cm ) Resistivity (ohm-cm) 10 10 AR IN High Resisitivity Epi (continued) 10 0 n 10 -1 10 16 n 10 15 n 10 14 n n n n n n 10 13 n n nn nn n nn nnn nnn n n nnnnn 10 12 nnnnn nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn n NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN 10 -2 0 10 20 30 DEPTH - microns Resistivity HighRho3 40 10 11 0 10 20 30 DEPTH - microns 40 Carrier Concentration SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 A SOLECON L AB SS EM Uncorrected layers (Unsmoothed data) Both layers corrected (Unsmoothed data) Top layer corrected and smoothed (Uncorrected/unsmoothed substrate) Our correction algorithms account for the sampling volume on non-uniformly doped layers. In regions with slight to no resistivity gradient, the algorithms tend to magnify the mechanical noise. But without correction the graded layer’s values can be very wrong! We have various levels of smoothing which we can use to reduce the scatter in your profiles. Correction AR IN Sampling Volume Correction SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 A SOLECON L AB SS EM AR IN SIMPLE CARRIER CONCENTRATION PROFILES CAN BE CONVERTED TO DOPANT PROFILES USING OUR POISSON SOLVER Raw Data Poisson1 Data reduction and Calibration standards Resistivity Published Carrier Mobility Values Carrier Concentration Poisson Solver SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 Dopant Concentration A SOLECON L AB SS Simple Carrier Concentration Profiles Can Easily Be Converted to Dopant Profiles using Our Poisson Solver EM AR IN 1017 Concentration Profile 1016 Carrier Concentration -3 (cm ) 1015 1014 10130 1 2 3 4 5 6 Poisson Solver 1017 Dopant Profile 1016 Dopant Concentration -3 (cm ) 1015 1014 1013 0 Poisson2 1 2 3 4 DEPTH — microns 5 6 SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 A SOLECON L AB SS EM . Concentration (cm-3) 70 keV 1e15, 4e15,1e16 10B into Silicon (circa 1983) SIMS SRA (not ours) DEPTH — microns From : James Ehrstein et al, ASTM Special Technical Publication 850, D. C. Gupta, editor, p. 415. Sims SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN SIMS Typically Reports Greater Depth in the Tail Region of B Diffusions. In the Following Example, Boron was Implanted into Single-crystal Si. A SOLECON L AB SS EM AR IN 11 MeV Arsenic Implant 10 10 10 19 “The implantations were carried out using the facilities of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory. 11 MeV beams were obtained from a dynamatron with a 2.2 megavolt terminal. The ion source is a conducting crystal of gallium arsenide from which arsenic ions in the 5+ charge state were sputtered and extracted into the accelerator column.” 18 n n 10 From Megavolt Arsenic Implantation into Silicon, a paper presented at the 1982 International Conference on Metallurgical Coatings and Process Technology by P.F. Byrne, N. W. Cheung, and D.K. Sadana, University of California, Berkeley. 17 16 Many thanks to Peter Byrne for permission to reproduce and disseminate this very impressive profile. n n 10 15 n P P 10 14 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 DEPTH — microns As11MeV SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 A SOLECON L AB SS EM 20 AR IN 10 P-TYPE CONTAMINATION — PROBABLY FROM BORON CONTAMINATED ANTIMONY 10 19 nnnnn n n n n n 10 18 n n n n n n N+ BURIED n LAYER (Antimony) n n 10 17 n Carrier n Concentration -3 n n nn n (cm ) n n n 10 10 10 P-CONTAMINATION ppp pp pp p p pp p p pp p p p p pp pp p pp pp pp pp PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP 16 EPI 15 14 0 4 8 12 16 20 DEPTH — microns BContamination SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 24 A SOLECON L AB SS EM AR IN Arsenic Autodoping During Epitaxial Deposition SRP Through a Buried Layer Pattern: 10 SRP through the Field: 20 10 20 n n 10 19 n 10 19 n n 10 18 10 n 18 n 10 Carrier Concentration -3 (cm ) 10 17 10 n Carrier Concentration -3 (cm ) n n n 16 nnn 17 10 n n n 16 nn n nn n n n 10 15 10 AutoDoping 14 0 4 8 12 16 DEPTH — microns 20 24 P P P PP 10 15 10 14 0 4 8 12 16 DEPTH — microns SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 20 24 A SOLECON L AB SS EM AR IN Ion Implant Channeling 10 degrees tilt . n n n 10 20 0 degrees tilt n . 10 20 n n n n n n n 10 19 10 19 n n n 10 18 10 18 n n n 10 17 10 17 n n n n n 10 16 n 10 16 n n n n n 10 15 n 10 15 P PPPP PPPP PPPPP PPP PPPPP PPP PPP 10 14 0 . .05 .1 .15 DEPTH-microns Channeling .2 .25 .3 10 14 0 . .05 .1 PPP PP .15 P .2 DEPTH-microns SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 P PP PP PPPP P .25 .3 A SOLECON L AB SS EM AR IN P+ Isolation Diffusion into N-Epi Wafer A 10 10 10 10 Carrier Concentration -3 (cm ) 10 10 19pppppppppppp 10 ADEQUATE ISOLATION 18 16 10 15 p 4 8 12 16 DEPTH — microns 19 10 p 14 0 20 ppppppppppp ppppp ppp ppp p pp pp p 18 p pp 10 pp p p pp pp p p 17 p 10 p p Carrier p Concentration p p -3 p (cm ) p p 16 10 p p p p p 15 p 17 10 P+Iso Wafer B 20 20 24 10 PRECARIOUS! P PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP PPPPP P P p PP P P P P P P 14 0 A VERY MARGINAL ISOLATION 4 8 12 16 DEPTH — microns SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 20 24 A SOLECON L AB SS EM 1017 p p pp pp p pp 1016 p ppp p p 3 Carrier Concentration (cm- ) p 1015 1014 1013 p pp ppp p p p p pp p p p ppp ppp pp p pp pp p ppppp p p p p pp p p p pp p pp p p p p pp p 1012 10110 OxyDoners .5 bulk doping of wafer ~ 2e14 p-type P PPPP P PP P P P PPP P P PP P P P P P p pPP P p pp p p pp ppp pp PP pp pppppp p p p p ppp p 1.0 1.5 2.0 E P T H m i c r D ons 2.5 3.0 SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN Thermal Donors — A Severe Case A SOLECON L AB SS EM AR IN Unannealed Implant N-type implant into 1e16 cm-3 N-type background. Since the implant wasn't activated, SRA senses the mobility change in the damaged area. 10 20 10 10 19 7 10 6 "Damaged" Region 10 10 10 18 10 17 16 • •• • • •• • • •• • • • •• •• •• • •• • •• • •• • • •• •• • • • •• •• • • • • •• • • •• •• •• • • • • • • • • • • • •• • • • •• • • •• • • • •• • 15 10 14 0 Inactive Mobility (cm2 / V-sec) Measured Resistance (Ohms) 10 10 10 10 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 DEPTH - microns 0.5 0.6 5 4 nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn nn n n nn n n nn n n nn nn nn nnnnnnnnnn 3 n 2 10 1 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 DEPTH - microns SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 0.5 0.6 A SOLECON L AB SS EM AR IN CMOS (P-channel Source-Drain) 10 20 ppppppp pp p p 10 19 p p p p p p p p p p pp PPP pppp pppp p p pppp ppp ppp pp pp ppp p p pp p pp p pp p p p p pp p pp p p p p p p p p p p p 10 18 p p 10 17 p nnn nn nnn nnnnn nnn 10 16 n n n n nn nn nnnn nn n nnn nn nn nn n nn nn p n 10 15 p nn nn nnnn nn nnn nn nn nn n nn nn n p n n p n pp 10 14 pp pp ppppp ppp pp p pp pppppppp ppp p pp p p p n p p np n p 10 13 0 .1 .2 .3 DEPTH - microns .4 0 Shallow Profile to Characterize the Source-Drain CMOS 1 p 2 3 4 DEPTH - microns 5 6 0 2 p 4 6 8 DEPTH - microns Steeper Profile (Plotted on 2 Depth Scales) to Characterize the N-Well, Epi, and Substrate SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 10 12 A SOLECON L AB SS EM 1) Bevel edge: Clear edge is required to identify fringes from different films near the active area, starting points and footprints. We use high quality optical microscope with dark field illumination to identify this 2) Bevel angle: Bevel angle multiplied by step increments influence the depth. Can influence shape, Xj, Base width measurements, etc. particularly in shallow SRPs 3) Step increments 4) Location of interest: Falling out of pattern and probing adjacent structures can lead to distorted profiles 5) Probe tip condition: Probe penetration, Calibration, Data Smoothing: While smoothing data, it is necessary to follow data trends, visually examine and suppress concavity or convexity and not allow data to follow random noise by choosing best fits and appropriate correction factors Factors SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN Factors influencing SRP measurements (Xj, Shape, Carrier Concentration) A SOLECON L AB SS EM Structures CMOS STRUCTURES BIPOLAR STRUCTURES • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Epi/Substrate P-Well/Epi N-Well/Epi Poly/Gate Ox/Epi Poly/Gate Ox/N-Channel Poly/Gate Ox/P-Channel P+/Epi P+/NWell N+/Epi N+/PWell NLDD PLDD Under field Ox with implant Under field Ox without implant Epi/Substrate Epi/Buried Layer/Substrate Base/Epi Base/Epi/Buried layer/Sub Base/Isolation/Epi/Sub Emitter/Base/Epi Emitter/Base/Epi/Buried layer Sinker/Epi/Sub Sinker/Epi/Buried layer Isolation/Epi/Sub SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN Common Structures of Interest For SRA A SOLECON L AB SS EM 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. QAChecklist Was the profile run in the location specified by the requester? Were the final profiles shown to lab supervisor? Are the profiles plotted with correct crystal orientation? Was the customer contacted for information regarding orientation or a break test done? Are the step increments optimal? Do the job numbers match those of customer copy? Do the sample numbers match those of customer copy? Are there different profiles for the same file numbers and sample numbers? Are the file numbers matching with customer copy? Was Calibration Check done for epi samples? Are the correction factors, smoothing factors optimal? Was hot probe done on all samples where this was necessary? Hot probes wires not reversed? Do scalings (y axis) match so customer can overlay with reference jobs and supreme 4? Has frsp been tried for p to p+ and n to n+ layers and for dips at epi to n+ junctions? Were the bevel angle scales chosen on the full axis according to information posted at profilometer? Was there a close correlation between the 4 point probe and SRA data sheet rho on bare silicon/test samples? Check customer satisfaction to see if profiles are in line with his expectations. SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN QA Checklist A SOLECON L AB SS EM • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Qmetrics Management responsibility Quality manual Business planning Contract review Written procedures on critical operations Purchasing Control of customer supplied samples Sample identification and traceability via job tracking system Statistical techniques Measurement and inspections Control of measurement and test equipment Control of non conforming profiles Corrective and preventive actions ESD control Internal and external quality control audits Control of quality records Customer training records Shipping of profiles Customer satisfaction records Inter lab comparisons, round robin records SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN Quality Systems In Line With ISO 9001/17025 A SOLECON L AB SS EM 1. Over 25 years of experience and continuous improvement in the art and science of beveling and probing with best known method on profiling carrier concentration. 2. High spatial resolution of dopant and depth profiles. 3. Low cost operation and high return on investment for customers, easily affordable. 4. Turnover within 24 hours available. 5. Fast and accurate feedback to fab and foundries. 6. Over 300 satisfied customers. 7. Both SRA and process expertise available at Solecon Labs. 8. Edge over competitors as far as reproducibility goes. WhySRA SOLECON LABS, Reno, Nevada (775) 853-5900 AR IN Why Solecon Labs and SRA