scholarly journals Automated TEM Workflow for Inline Defect Characterization

Author(s):  
Hyun Woo Shim ◽  
Taehun Lee ◽  
Jonghan Kwon

Abstract This study demonstrates that a high-volume TEM workflow can be achieved for inline defect characterization by adding a defect marking step using commercially available tools. A simple user-assisted defect marking step added to a conventional automated ex-situ lift-out TEM workflow showed 2.9 times faster throughput using 11 times less man-hours, a significant productivity gain over a conventional manual TEM workflow.

Cancers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 3735
Author(s):  
Roberta Angelico ◽  
Bruno Sensi ◽  
Alessandro Parente ◽  
Leandro Siragusa ◽  
Carlo Gazia ◽  
...  

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is an aggressive malignancy of the biliary tract. To date, surgical treatment remains the only hope for definitive cure of CCA patients. Involvement of major vascular structures was traditionally considered a contraindication for resection. Nowadays, selected cases of CCA with vascular involvement can be successfully approached. Intrahepatic CCA often involves the major hepatic veins or the inferior vena cava and might necessitate complete vascular exclusion, in situ hypothermic perfusion, ex situ surgery and reconstruction with autologous, heterologous or synthetic grafts. Hilar CCA more frequently involves the portal vein and hepatic artery. Resection and reconstruction of the portal vein is now considered a relatively safe and beneficial technique, and it is accepted as a standard option either with direct anastomosis or jump grafts. However, hepatic artery resection remains controversial; despite accumulating positive reports, the procedure remains technically challenging with increased rates of morbidity. When arterial reconstruction is not possible, arterio-portal shunting may offer salvage, while sometimes an efficient collateral system could bypass the need for arterial reconstructions. Keys to achieve success are represented by accurate selection of patients in high-volume referral centres, adequate technical skills and eclectic knowledge of the various possibilities for vascular reconstruction.


Author(s):  
Hyoung H. Kang ◽  
John F. King ◽  
Oliver D. Patterson ◽  
Steven B. Herschbein ◽  
James P. Nadeau ◽  
...  

Abstract This paper introduces a high volume and fast turnaround TEM sample preparation method and requirements for a 300 mm inline DualBeam (FIB/SEM) system with “hands-off” full automation. It requires a factory automation system, robust automated recipes, and an ex-situ TEM lamella liftout system. It describes the recipe structure and TEM lamella lift out procedures. The focus is on fully automated TEM sample preparation for process monitoring in manufacturing line. Two successful examples are described to demonstrate the benefit of this method. The first one is TEM sample for CA profile at M1 level. The second is TEM sample for poly crystalline (PC) line profile at post-etch.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel V. Pedersen ◽  
Florent Muramutsa ◽  
Joshua D. Wood ◽  
Chad Husko ◽  
David Estrada ◽  
...  

Abstract Adopting black phosphorus (BP) as a material in electronic and optoelectronic device manufacturing requires the development and understanding of a large-scale synthesis technique. To that end, high-energy planetary ball milling is demonstrated as a scalable synthesis route, and the mechanisms and conversion kinetics of the BP phase transformation are investigated. During the milling process, media collisions rapidly compress amorphous red phosphorus (RP) into crystalline, orthorhombic BP flakes, resulting in a conversion yield of ≈90% for ≈5 g of bulk BP powder. Milling conversion kinetics, monitored via ex situ x-ray diffraction, manifest a sigmoidal behavior best described by the Avrami rate model with each impact of sufficient energy (>25 mJ) producing BP nuclei; the process appears to be limited by grain growth. Using a kinematic model for ball trajectories and impact energies, the optimum milling condition is determined to be an impact energy near ≈25 mJ and a milling dose near ≈100 kJ/gram. Photoexcitation of exfoliated BP flakes reveals emission in the near-infrared, indicating the formation of few-layer BP, a promising advance for optoelectronic device applications.


1998 ◽  
Vol 535 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. L. Terry

AbstractFabrication of high performance III-V devices and integrated circuits depends on careful control of layer thicknesses and compositions in the as-grown epitaxial layers and in the etching of these layers. The relatively high value of compound semiconductor devices (compared with high-volume Si devices) makes the use of advanced process control (with expensive in situ sensors) potentially advantageous. Considerable attention has been given to the problems of realtime feedback control of MBE growth systems. In this paper, I will discuss experiences with use of both in situ and ex situ monitors for controlling reactive ion etching (RIE) of III-V materials. Specific examples from an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) RIE base contact etch from an AlInAs/GalnAs HBT process will be given. The relative merits of reflection-based wafer sensors vs. process state sensors (optical emission spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy) will be discussed. The unique opportunities and problems associated with the III-V materials and required etch processes will be contrasted to implementation of advanced wafer state endpoint detection schemes in Si and flat panel display processes. Specific problems and solutions from our research which I will discuss include chamber seasoning effects on the drift of optical emission based endpoint detection schemes and signal processing techniques for accounting for this drift, modeling of the optical dielectric function of the compounds of interest vs. composition, and the effects of surface roughness on optical thickness measurements.


Author(s):  
D. E. Fornwalt ◽  
A. R. Geary ◽  
B. H. Kear

A systematic study has been made of the effects of various heat treatments on the microstructures of several experimental high volume fraction γ’ precipitation hardened nickel-base alloys, after doping with ∼2 w/o Hf so as to improve the stress rupture life and ductility. The most significant microstructural chan§e brought about by prolonged aging at temperatures in the range 1600°-1900°F was the decoration of grain boundaries with precipitate particles.Precipitation along the grain boundaries was first detected by optical microscopy, but it was necessary to use the scanning electron microscope to reveal the details of the precipitate morphology. Figure 1(a) shows the grain boundary precipitates in relief, after partial dissolution of the surrounding γ + γ’ matrix.


Author(s):  
D. Loretto ◽  
J. M. Gibson ◽  
S. M. Yalisove ◽  
R. T. Tung

The cobalt disilicide/silicon system has potential applications as a metal-base and as a permeable-base transistor. Although thin, low defect density, films of CoSi2 on Si(111) have been successfully grown, there are reasons to believe that Si(100)/CoSi2 may be better suited to the transmission of electrons at the silicon/silicide interface than Si(111)/CoSi2. A TEM study of the formation of CoSi2 on Si(100) is therefore being conducted. We have previously reported TEM observations on Si(111)/CoSi2 grown both in situ, in an ultra high vacuum (UHV) TEM and ex situ, in a conventional Molecular Beam Epitaxy system.The procedures used for the MBE growth have been described elsewhere. In situ experiments were performed in a JEOL 200CX electron microscope, extensively modified to give a vacuum of better than 10-9 T in the specimen region and the capacity to do in situ sample heating and deposition. Cobalt was deposited onto clean Si(100) samples by thermal evaporation from cobalt-coated Ta filaments.


Author(s):  
M.G. Burke ◽  
M.K. Miller

Interpretation of fine-scale microstructures containing high volume fractions of second phase is complex. In particular, microstructures developed through decomposition within low temperature miscibility gaps may be extremely fine. This paper compares the morphological interpretations of such complex microstructures by the high-resolution techniques of TEM and atom probe field-ion microscopy (APFIM).The Fe-25 at% Be alloy selected for this study was aged within the low temperature miscibility gap to form a <100> aligned two-phase microstructure. This triaxially modulated microstructure is composed of an Fe-rich ferrite phase and a B2-ordered Be-enriched phase. The microstructural characterization through conventional bright-field TEM is inadequate because of the many contributions to image contrast. The ordering reaction which accompanies spinodal decomposition in this alloy permits simplification of the image by the use of the centered dark field technique to image just one phase. A CDF image formed with a B2 superlattice reflection is shown in fig. 1. In this CDF micrograph, the the B2-ordered Be-enriched phase appears as bright regions in the darkly-imaging ferrite. By examining the specimen in a [001] orientation, the <100> nature of the modulations is evident.


Author(s):  
K. Barmak

Generally, processing of thin films involves several annealing steps in addition to the deposition step. During the annealing steps, diffusion, transformations and reactions take place. In this paper, examples of the use of TEM and AEM for ex situ and in situ studies of reactions and phase transformations in thin films will be presented.The ex situ studies were carried out on Nb/Al multilayer thin films annealed to different stages of reaction. Figure 1 shows a multilayer with dNb = 383 and dAl = 117 nm annealed at 750°C for 4 hours. As can be seen in the micrograph, there are four phases, Nb/Nb3-xAl/Nb2-xAl/NbAl3, present in the film at this stage of the reaction. The composition of each of the four regions marked 1-4 was obtained by EDX analysis. The absolute concentration in each region could not be determined due to the lack of thickness and geometry parameters that were required to make the necessary absorption and fluorescence corrections.


Author(s):  
D. Loretto ◽  
J. M. Gibson ◽  
S. M. Yalisove

The silicides CoSi2 and NiSi2 are both metallic with the fee flourite structure and lattice constants which are close to silicon (1.2% and 0.6% smaller at room temperature respectively) Consequently epitaxial cobalt and nickel disilicide can be grown on silicon. If these layers are formed by ultra high vacuum (UHV) deposition (also known as molecular beam epitaxy or MBE) their thickness can be controlled to within a few monolayers. Such ultrathin metal/silicon systems have many potential applications: for example electronic devices based on ballistic transport. They also provide a model system to study the properties of heterointerfaces. In this work we will discuss results obtained using in situ and ex situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM).In situ TEM is suited to the study of MBE growth for several reasons. It offers high spatial resolution and the ability to penetrate many monolayers of material. This is in contrast to the techniques which are usually employed for in situ measurements in MBE, for example low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED), which are both sensitive to only a few monolayers at the surface.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document