黑料福利网

The project TeraTom (Terahertz tomography for heterogeneous systems on chip) is funded by the National Growth Fund. In this project, 黑料福利网 (Photonics and Semiconductor Nanophysics, Integrated Circuits and Signal Processing Systems), ARCNL () and Saxion University of Applied Science (), together with seven companies (IMS, Aixtron, Applied Nanolayers, TeraNova, SMART Photonics, Bronkhorst High-Tech B.V., and VSL) and supported by the Universiteitsfonds Eindhoven, will develop a prototype for semiconductor metrology.

The building blocks of all the semiconductor devices that sustain our 鈥渟ociety of technology鈥� are wafers and thin films that are repeatedly grown before they go into further processing steps. At the same time, to realize new functionalities in semiconductor devices and make optimal use of available wafer space, semiconductor devices will shrink to even atomic scale, using novel materials, while being designed in 3D-configurations.

Necessity for pre-inspection and in-line characterization of materials on a very detailed level has become highly relevant for foundries, especially with the market鈥檚 increasing use of heterogeneous systems with different semiconductors that improve the device鈥檚 properties. The current methods for wafer inspection of heterogenous systems to assess critical material properties, such as doping and charge mobility, are limited to the surface. Other methods are destructive when they are used to retrieve information as a function of depth. Non-destructive methods do not provide sufficiently accurate information or require a pre-knowledge of some sample properties, such as the layers鈥� thickness. So, current methods provide insufficient quality, reduce production yield, and are not sustainable.

In this project, researchers want to bridge the knowledge gap of fast, non-invasive, and non-destructive semiconductor inspection. They will investigate broadband terahertz (THz - far infrared electromagnetic radiation) spectroscopy, THz emission spectroscopy, microscopy, and nanoscopy in industrially relevant heterogeneous and 2D systems to retrieve material properties as a function of depth and position.

With the knowledge gained from this research, together with the industry partners, they will develop a non-invasive and non-destructive prototype based on short pulses of terahertz (THz) radiation in combination with optical pulses to retrieve the properties of as-grown heterogeneous systems in the relevant industrial environment. This prototype will enable material and quality investigations of heterogenous and 2D systems for opto-electronics, micro-electronics and MEMS applications, increasing yield, quality and throughput time all at once, and reducing material waste. This instrument should lead to additional turnover and strengthen the competitiveness of semiconductor foundries.

•  (Doctoral Candidate, Photonics and Semiconductor Nanophysics, adjacent project)
•  (Doctoral Candidate, Photonics and Semiconductor Nanophysics, adjacent project)
• Yulia Tykhonenko-Polishchuk (Saxion University of Applied Science)