ABSTRACT
High spatial resolution, together with the availability of diffraction and spectroscopic information make transmission electron microscopy (TEM) a necessity for a modem semiconductor failure analysis laboratory. In order to take advantage of these possibilities, however, reproducible methods for TEM sample preparation are required that produce samples which represent the microstructure of the bulk material and which are free from artifacts. In a semiconductor industrial failure analysis laboratory, a variety of TEM specimen preparation methods are necessary to meet the wide ranging demands required from different devices, materials and analyses. The in-situ lift out technique has added invaluable flexibility to focused ion beam-TEM sample preparation techniques for semiconductor devices. 3-dimensional information on suspected failure sites is available when a cross-section is made from an already thinned planview specimen and this is shown to increase the probability of finding the source of the failure.
