Kelvin Force Microscopy and corona charging for semiconductor material and device characterization

Abstract Novel developments in this review relate to μcorona-Kelvin, realized by miniaturization of corona charging spot and adaptation of Kelvin Force Microscopy, KFM. Resolution improvement has opened possibilities of non-contact characterization of miniature scribe line test sites on processed semiconductor wafers. Surface diffusion of corona ions can be quantified with μcorona-KFM leading to the development of the kinetic C–V method. The quantified decrease of charge due to diffusion creates a “charge-bias sweep”. Application examples illustrate the determination of dielectric capacitance; flatband voltage; and effective gate metal work function indicators. Applications to SiC demonstrate doping density determination with kinetic CV. Non-Visible Defect, NVD, inspection benefits from micro-resolution characterization in two ways: 1) defects revealed by whole wafer mapping can now be examined in high resolution; illustrated using an example of Na contamination; and 2) detailed characterization can be performed within small defective areas providing a means for better understanding of a specific NVD.