Speaker
Description
We report on the design, commissioning, and first light measurements of the Non-destructive Statistical Estimation of Nanoscale Structures and Electronics (NSENSE) instrument developed for IARPA’s Rapid Analysis of Various Emerging Nanoelectronics (RAVEN) program. The goal of this program is to three-dimensionally image a 14 nm technology node integrated circuit (IC) with 10x10x10 nm spatial resolution in a time frame of only 25 days. Our non-destructive, tabletop approach involves sequentially illuminating small areas of the IC under test with X-rays of known, distinct energies. Characteristic X-rays are generated with a highly focused electron beam bombarding a thin foil (at first simple Au foil, then multi-material patterned foils) deposited on the IC surface. X-rays passing through the IC make their way to an array of X-ray TES microcalorimeters. Information about the X-ray energy, arrival time, and location on the TES array is fed into a tomographic inversion algorithm to begin reconstruction of the area under study. A coarse motion hexapod, fine motion piezo, and rotation stage are used to precisely translate and rotate the sample with respect to the electron beam. Multiple local reconstructions are then combined to yield an image of the entire IC.
We have built a 240-pixel TES spectrometer in support of this instrument. In order to meet the short timing requirement on imaging the IC, we have developed TES microcalorimeters uniquely optimized for operation at extraordinarily high count rates (> 200 cps/detector) rather than just maximum resolving power. At these rates, we measured an energy resolution of 12 eV at 8 keV. We show our first light measurements and initial tomographic inversion results on simple test structures with this first generation RAVEN instrument. We also go over plans for our second generation RAVEN instrument, which is scheduled to go online in late 2021 and will include a 3000-pixel TES array read out using microwave SQUID multiplexing.
| Student (Ph.D., M.Sc. or B.Sc.) | N |
|---|---|
| Less than 5 years of experience since completion of Ph.D | Y |
