Electrical components consist of a variety of
materials (semiconductors, polymers, ceramics,
glass, metals, etc.). Additionally, production
of electronic devices involves many processing
steps (cleaning, doping, coating, structuring,
soldering etc.). The resulting structures range
in size from a few Angstroms to some
centimeters. Thus, electronic components present
a challenge for any problem-orientated analysis
used to support development, production or
quality control.
Requirements include: high-lateral resolution imaging of structured
devices, high sensitivity detection of dopants
and/or contaminants, layer elucidation with high
depth resolution as well as handling a wide
range of materials (charging/conductive,
structured/homogeneous surfaces etc.). These
challenges can now be met with a single
technique, Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS).
Possible Problems
characterization of base materials used
(semiconductors, resins and other polymers,
ceramics etc.)
layer structure elucidation
adhesion behavior (e.g.
during soldering)
efficiency of process steps (e.g. lifetime
optimization of cleaning baths)
control of cleanroom environments (e.g.
organic materials)
staining, debris formation and residues
(e.g. after etching steps)
monitoring of implantation
processes (e.g. B in Si, As in Si)
