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Quantitative dopant profiling in semiconductors: A new approach to Kelvin probe force microscopy

Baumgart, C.

Failure analysis and optimization of semiconducting devices request knowledge of their electrical properties. To meet the demands of today’s semiconductor industry, an electrical nanometrology technique is required which provides quantitative information about the doping profile and which enables scans with a lateral resolution in the sub-10 nm range. In the presented work it is shown that Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) is a very promising electrical nanometrology technique to face this challenge. The technical and physical aspects of KPFM measurements on semiconductors required for the correct interpretation of the detected KPFM bias are discussed. A new KPFM model is developed which enables the quantitative correlation between the probed KPFM bias and the dopant concentration in the investigated semiconducting sample. Quantitative dopant profiling by means of the new KPFM model is demonstrated by the example of differently structured, n- and p-type doped silicon. Additionally, the transport of charge carriers during KPFM measurements, in particular in the presence of intrinsic electric fields due to vertical and horizontal pn junctions as well as due to surface space charge regions, is discussed. Detailed investigations show that transport of charge carriers in the semiconducting sample is a crucial aspect and has to be taken into account when aiming for a quantitative evaluation of the probed KPFM bias.

Keywords: semiconducting devices; doping profile; Kelvin probe force microscopy; KPFM

Related publications

  • Open Access Logo Wissenschaftlich-Technische Berichte / Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf; HZDR-026 2012
    ISSN: 2191-8708, eISSN: 2191-8716

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Permalink: https://www.hzdr.de/publications/Publ-17893
Publ.-Id: 17893