Investigating the influence of FIB-preparation induced surface effects in operando semiconductor TEM-lamellae

The continuous miniaturization of semiconductor nanodevices necessitates advanced characterization techniques to probe their internal electrostatic potential under operational conditions. Off-axis electron holography (EH) enables quantitative mapping of phase shifts induced by electrostatic potentials, yet its application in operando transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is hindered by focused ion beam (FIB)-induced surface artifacts, such as amorphized layers and charge trapping, which distort the potential landscape, in addition to long-range electric stray fields. This study introduces an extended multilayer framework to efficiently model 3D electrostatic potential distributions in such FIB-prepared TEM-lamellae. By incorporating core, internal stray field, surface, and external stray field layers, the model captures FIB-induced modulations with minimal computational complexity. Validation against electron holographic tomography and conventional EH on various Si p-n junctions demonstrates excellent agreement, accurately reproducing broadened phase profiles across varying sample thicknesses. The model therefore enables reconstruction of 3D potential variations from single projected phase images, facilitating rapid assessment of preparation-induced artifacts and offering a practical tool for optimizing FIB-related preparation workflows of semiconductor nanostructures.