EDFAS Online Community

The EDFAS Education Subcommittee strives for the development and delivery of educational products to the EDFAS membership. Keeping with its strategic focus on reaching a broader audience, including facilitating Q&A and educational exchanges on the ASM Connect platform, the Subcommittee presents short format presentations on selected FA topics. These presentations are available on ASM Connect and highlighted in EDFA Magazine.

We present the tutorial:

TEM Specimen Preparation and Failure Analysis of Advanced Semiconductor Devices

Cecile S. Bonifacio, PhD

Sr. Applications Scientist

E.A. Fischione Instruments, Inc.

Relentless miniaturization of semiconductor devices, alongside the introduction of non-planar structures and novel materials, has elevated transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to a critical characterization tool. As device dimensions shrink, TEM sample preparation techniques have evolved alongside imaging and analytical advancements. Ion milling, including focused ion beam (FIB) and broad Ar ion beam milling, remains essential in the semiconductor industry. While Ga-FIB is the standard for TEM specimen preparation, plasma FIBs utilizing inductively coupled Xe plasma sources are increasingly employed. Careful consideration of the final specimen thickness in relation to the defect or feature size is crucial, posing a significant challenge in sample preparation. This short tutorial will address TEM specimen preparation methodologies for advanced semiconductor devices, with a focus on FIB and post-FIB techniques.

Dr. Cecile Bonifacio is a Senior Applications Scientist at Fischione Instruments, specializing in the development of Materials Science TEM applications. She provides application support, training, and demonstrations for TEM sample preparation products and the TEM holder product line, including cryo-transfer and tomography holders. With over 19 years of experience in electron microscopy sample preparation, imaging, and analysis, she has authored/co-authored over 60 publications and presentations. Since 2017, she has been an invited instructor for Lehigh University’s Microscopy TEM and FIB courses. Dr. Bonifacio's expertise in TEM, STEM, and in situ microscopy was developed during her doctoral studies in Chemical Engineering at the University of California-Davis (PhD) and further refined during her post-doctoral work at the University of Pittsburgh.