Method for imaging a feature using a scanning probe microscope
AssigneeFEI EFA, Inc.
InventorsAndrew Norman Erickson, Stephen Bradley Ippolito, Sean Zumwalt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Using a local-potential-driving probe drives a conductor to a known potential while adjacent lines are grounded through the sample body reduces electrostatic scanning microscope signal from adjacent lines, allows imaging of metal lines deeper in the sample. Providing different potentials locally on different conductive lines using multiple local-potential-driving probes allows different conductors to be highlighted in the same image, for example, by changing the phase of the signal being applied to the different local-potential-driving probes.
Claims22
A method of forming an image of a nano-scale structure on a sample using an electrostatic force microscope, comprising:
- providing a sample electrical potential to the sample body, the sample electrical potential providing a guard potential around the nano-scale structure;
- contacting the nano-scale structure on the sample with a first atomic force microscope probe;
- providing a local potential to the nano-scale structure through the first atomic force microscope probe;
- scanning a second atomic force microscope probe over a region to produce an image of the nano-scale structure.
A method of forming an image of a first conductive feature on a sample using a scanning probe microscope, the sample including a sample body and a second conductive feature sufficiently close to the first conductive feature such that an electrostatic force microscope image of the first and second features overlap when an image is formed using a non-contact scanning probe and a potential applied only to the sample body, comprising:
- providing a sample electrical potential to the sample body, the sample electrical potential providing a guard potential around the first and second features;
- contacting the first feature on the sample with a local-potential-driving probe connected to a positioner capable of positioning the local-potential-driving probe with submicron precision;
- providing a local potential to the first conductive feature through the local-potential-driving probe;
- scanning an imaging probe of a first scanning probe microscope over a region including the first feature to produce an output signal;
- and
- forming an image using a magnitude, frequency, or phase of the output signal of the first feature, the image including only the first feature and features electrically connected to the first feature.
A method of observing a subsurface feature of a sample using a scanning probe microscope, the sample including a sample body, a surface feature, and a subsurface feature electrically connected to the surface feature, the method comprising:
- providing a sample electrical potential to the sample body;
- contacting the surface feature on the sample with a local-potential-driving probe connected to a positioner capable of positioning the local-potential-driving probe with submicron precision;
- applying a local potential to the surface feature through the local-potential-driving probe;
- scanning an imaging probe of a first scanning probe microscope over a region proximate to the surface feature to produce an output signal;
- and
- forming an image using the magnitude, frequency, or phase of the output signal, the image including at least a portion of the surface feature and at least a portion of the subsurface feature, the local-potential-driving probe causing the potential on the surface feature and the sub-surface feature to be sufficient different from the sample potential so that the sub-surface feature is observable in the image.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.