There are some advantages to performing physical failure analysis from the backside as opposed to normal frontside analysis. However, there are challenges to be overcome with regard to sample preparation and scanning electron microscopy. Thus, we introduce this unusual technique to overcome the barrier of difficulty. This technique can eventually lead to the development of a versatile methodology that can be used in actual applications for failure analysis.

Advantages of low energy e-beam & i-beam in the operation and applications of SEM/FIB/EDS are presented. Further advantages of Backscattered Electron in SEM are stressed in the paper. However, since the “low energy” limit of zero is impractical, limiting factors and optimum operation conditions will be discussed. The article also investigates practical challenges associated with low energy beams in real situations.