Structural characterization of He ion microscope platinum deposition and sub-surface silicon damage

• Published in: Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology B: Microelectronics and Nanometer Structures 2012-07, Vol.30 (4)
• Main Authors: Drezner, Yariv, Greenzweig, Yuval, Fishman, Daniel, van Veldhoven, Emile, Maas, Diederik J., Raveh, Amir, Livengood, Richard H.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2166-2746; 1520-8567; 2166-2754
• DOI: 10.1116/1.4732074

In this paper we studied helium ion beam induced deposition (HIBID) of Pt on a silicon wafer using the recently commercialized helium ion microscope (HIM) at 25 kV and low beam currents. The motivation of this work was to understand the impact of light, inert helium ions on deposition rate and structure purity, with some implications on the usefulness of HIM nano-machining for circuit modification. Two Pt-rich deposits with sub-micron dimensions were grown with HIBID at different ion beam currents. The pillar and substrate structure were studied using bright and dark field TEM images. The authors analyzed metal purity profile of the HIBID deposit on height using energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The maximum Pt content measured reached 41%, which is the highest measured metal content of a HIBID-grown structure. TEM studies of the sub-surface damage to the Si shows more damage below the deposit grown at a higher beam current. The differences in amorphization layer thickness between the two different beam currents are discussed. A comparison to Pt deposition by Ga FIB and electron beam induced deposition is provided, along with conclusions regarding the usage of HIBID technology for circuit modification.