NanoScope FIB technology article. Just posted here is the full article discussing the relative merits of both methods of FIBxTEM section extraction and the factors to consider when choosing which is better for your sample types. You may think the answer is a foregone conclusion, with in-situ foil extraction being clearly more advanced and more effective as an extraction method than ex-situ, but hold on to that thought, as there may be some less obvious issues that are worth your consideration. Included here is a detailed analysis of each of these rival techniques across the following areas of applicability – 1st Speed – with the hands down winner being ex-situ 2nd Yield – more controversial with advocates on both sides 3rd Quality issues (of the section produced) 4th Cost – a clear winner here 5th Versatility – not such a common topic but vital for TEM users 6th Ease of use – this must be a slam dunk or? 7th Special circumstances Lets just check our terms and the common perception of what’s what for this technique. FIBxTEM section or foil = The site specific FIB milled sample biopsy that is FIB polished to become electron transparent and extracted to a TEM grid before being transferred to a TEM microscope for more detailed studies. ‘in-situ’ foil extraction – where a ‘thick’ biopsied section is transferred to a TEM grid inside the FIB-SEM instrument using a nano-manipulator and attached there before being FIB polished to the required ‘thinness’ and then transferred to a TEM. ‘ex-situ’ foil extraction – where a site specific feature is thinned to electron transparency BEFORE extraction, then...
NanoScope has brought Dual-Acid decapsulation in-house, and extended those capabilities. This equipment was part of a larger equipment acquisition and more FA and other capabilities will become available over the next few weeks. By bringing these capabilities in-house we can further reduce the turnaround time of decap work for our semiconductor customers needing urgent Failure Analysis or Circuit Nano-Surgery (Circuit Edit), while ensuring that the quality remains high and the costs remain low. We are very pleased to have increased the depth of expertise within our organisation for supporting a wider range of Failure Analysis applications beyond Circuit Nano-surgery, high end microscopy and physical device analysis. Gel-coat removal for MEMS devices For MEMS clients needing access to Gel coated devices for Failure Analysis, Structural Analysis or Structural modifications with FIB, we have also added a chemical etch process for packaged MEMS devices. This service is available with the same fast-turnaround as our other services. A New FIB process for accessing a device ‘through a WL-CSP package’. Circuit Nano-Surgery to a device already packaged with CSP and RDL layers, can now be easily achieved without removing the package in most cases. Working through a CSP layer adds a little time to a surgical process, but has only a small effect on the efficacy or yield of a surgical intervention. Testing advantages WL-CSP packaging can also be a shortcut for the high speed testing of 1st Silicon engineering devices prior to FlipChip packaging. Working through these layers means that more complex edits can be performed ‘top-down’, with lower costs and higher yields, producing some significant time and cost savings. Some handling...
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