System and method of mapping leakage current and a defect profile of a semiconductor dielectric layer
AssigneeAdvanced Micro Devices, Inc.
InventorsSunil N. Shabde, Yowjuang William Liu, Ting Yiu Tsui
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Abstract
A method (100) and a system (150) for detecting defects in a dielectric material (112) includes the steps of moving carriers (102) in the dielectric material (112), wherein the number of carriers is a function of whether defects exist in the dielectric material (112). The carriers are then deflected (130) toward a surface (116) of the dielectric material (112) using, for example, a magnetic field (132), and form an accumulated charge profile on the surface (116) of the dielectric material (112). The charge profile is then detected (140) and used to determine (180) the location of defects within the dielectric material (112).
Claims21
A method of detecting defects in a dielectric material, comprising the steps of:
- moving one or more carriers in the dielectric material, wherein a number of carriers is a function of defects in the dielectric material;
- deflecting the carriers toward a surface of the dielectric material;
- and
- detecting an accumulated charge on the surface of the dielectric material due to the deflected carriers.
A system for detecting defects in a dielectric material, comprising:
- a stage accommodating a dielectric material to be evaluated;
- an atomic force microscope system operatively coupled to the stage;
- means for moving one or more carriers in the dielectric material;
- magnetic field means for subjecting the dielectric material to a magnetic field having an orientation for deflecting the moving carriers in the dielectric material to a surface of the dielectric material in accordance with the Hall effect, thereby generating an accumulated charge profile on the dielectric material surface;
- and
- a controller operatively coupled to the stage and the atomic force microscope for dictating the detection of the accumulated charge profile on the dielectric material and controlling a positional relationship between the stage and the atomic force microscope.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.