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Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Using Synchrotron Radiation Microtomography to Investigate Multi-scale Three-dimensional Microelectronic Packages
Published on: April 13, 2016
Tomography experiment of an integrated circuit specimen using 3 MeV electrons in the transmission electron microscope
Hai-Bo Zhang1, Xiang-Liang Zhang, Yong Wang
1Department of Electronic Science and Technology, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, People's Republic of China. hbzhang@mail.xjtu.edu.cn
Abstract:
The possibility of utilizing high-energy electron tomography to characterize the micron-scale three dimensional (3D) structures of integrated circuits has been demonstrated experimentally. First, electron transmission through a tilted SiO(2) film was measured with an ultrahigh-voltage electron microscope (ultra-HVEM) and analyzed from the point of view of elastic scattering of electrons, showing that linear attenuation of the logarithmic electron transmission still holds valid for effective specimen thicknesses up to 5 microm under 2 MV accelerating voltages. Electron tomography of a micron-order thick integrated circuit specimen including the Cu/via interconnect was then tried with 3 MeV electrons in the ultra-HVEM. Serial projection images of the specimen tilted at different angles over the range of +/-90 degrees were acquired, and 3D reconstruction was performed with the images by means of the IMOD software package. Consequently, the 3D structures of the Cu lines, via and void, were revealed by cross sections and surface rendering.
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