The theoretical fundamentals of diffractive solid immersion lenses (dSILs) were revised and adapted to a new application: the direct single-step chemistry-assisted creation of binary dSILs in silicon with a focused ion beam (FIB). Current results were able to prove the general functionality of this technique, but also showed the limitations still present. These limitations were identified; the underlying problems were analyzed and were addressed by optimizing several aspects of the process. The presented dSIL has a diameter of 150 ìm and is created in 15 minutes of processing time. It is designed for a sample thickness of 70 µm, which can be well adjusted if needed. For this sample thickness, the theoretical numerical aperture is about 2.5, offering a significant improvement in resolution. Furthermore a comparison of diffractive and refractive solid immersion lenses is presented, both created in a similar process. Apart from general aspects of dSILs and rSILs (refractive SILs), details of the designs presented in this work are compared. This leads to the insight of which method (dSIL or rSIL) has its advantages for which type of application.

Focused Ion Beam has proven to create refractive solid immersion lenses in silicon that can significantly improve the resolution of optical backside analysis tools. The SIL performance in our previous works has been limited though, mostly due to a pure sputtering process. This problem is addressed by developing a chemistry-assisted FIB process, offering the ability to create larger SIL shapes. A 50 µm wide SIL shape is presented with a lens area two and a half times larger than the largest FIB SIL we created so far. The resulting wider opening angle has the potential of better spatial resolution and higher photon collection efficiency. 370 nm wide image features are resolved using the FIB created SIL expanding the resolution capabilities of the used laser scanning microscope considerably.

The topic of this work is the sequential use of Solid Immersion Lenses (SILs), created in bulk silicon in less than 20 minutes of processing time, using a focused ion beam and a bitmap milling process. Fibbed SILs can be removed by polishing, and the silicon back surface resumes a perfect planar shape for further backside analysis or the creation of more SILs. The influence of the progressively thinner sample thickness on the magnification of the SIL was analyzed. As fibbed SILs in this work are about 1.4 µm thick and have an additional magnification of 2.4, a second process after removal has been found to decrease magnification not more than 20%. The presence of interference rings in the SIL image could be almost completely removed by anti-reflective coating. Photon emission microscopy, performed using fibbed SILs, allowed to clearly distinguish between sources that were separated by 240 nm wide structures.

This work describes how Solid Immersion Lenses (SILs) can be created in bulk silicon using a focused ion beam and a bitmap milling process. The optical properties are in good agreement with the expected results for the achieved lens geometries. An improvement in lateral spatial resolution by a factor of 1.8 and in image contrast by 170 % for backside analysis is demonstrated. The presented SILs are 32 µm in diameter with a field of view of about 10 μm. This process can be an alternative when a regular SIL placement on the chip is impossible or complex. The advantages of this method are the use of a single kind of material (no air gaps and no additional lens material with different n value), the ability to precisely position the SIL on the circuitry and the fact that a SIL may be created in less than twenty minutes of processing time.

Editing inside an integrated circuit (IC) is critical to debug new devices. Current flipchip circuit edit techniques are limited by spot resolution and chemistry constraints of Focused Ion Beam (FIB) systems. The newly proposed technique for circuit edit (CE) employs FIB to contact circuit nodes directly on transistor level, offering a wide range of applications since it allows accessing every signal on a chip. The general functionality and the influence on chip performance are evaluated for an Intel 65nm process technology.

Direct measurements of circuit node signals without changing the performance of the circuitry are essential in modern FA but often impossible for recent IC technologies. This paper shows new methods, based on FIB backside circuit edit, allowing access to every existing circuit node at the device level, and discusses options for probing and discrete characterization.

The feasibility of low-ohmic FIB contacts to silicon with a localized silicidation was presented at ISTFA 2004 [1]. We have systematically explored options in contacting diffusions with FIB metal depositions directly. A demonstration of a 200nm x 200nm contact on source/drain diffusion level is given. The remaining article focuses on the properties of FIB deposited contacts on differently doped n-type Silicon. After the ion beam assisted platinum deposition a silicide was formed using a forming current in two configurations. The electrical properties of the contacts are compared to furnace anneal standards. Parameters of Schottky-barriers and thermal effects of the formation current are studied with numerical simulation. TEM images and material analysis of the low ohmic contacts show a Pt-silicide formed on a silicon surface with no visible defects. The findings indicate which process parameters need a more detailed investigation in order to establish values for a practical process.

Results of experimental studies are presented which address a concern that gallium staining from FIB imaging during backside editing might degrade IR navigation as well as signal acquisition during probing of flip chips by such techniques as Picosecond Imaging Circuit Analysis (PICA) and Laser Voltage Probing (LVP). Although optical transparency does depend on gallium implantation dose, Ga staining is, however, not necessarily a limitation to the implementation of photon optical tools in the debug laboratory. Comparisons are made on the results from devices under the following conditions: with and without an anti-reflective (AR) coating, with and without XeF2 enhancement during FIB etching, and with confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) imaging and CCD-based IR microscope imaging.