Publisher：Proceedings of SPIE the International Society for Optical Engineering  

Semiconductor photocathodes are electron beam sources with versatile electron beam performance such as pulsed structure as well as high beam current with high monochromaticity. Photocathode using GaN semiconductor material has solved the durability problem, resulting in the development of a compact photocathode electron gun suitable for industrial technology. The photocathode electron gun can be retrofitted to existing electron microscopes, has the same brightness as a cold field emitter cathode, and the pulsed beam not only brings selective beam irradiation to arbitrary area in the field of view in SEM imaging, but also allows blur-free TEM imaging of moving samples.

DOI： 10.1117/12.3010730

Web of Science

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Publisher：Proceedings of SPIE the International Society for Optical Engineering  

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is used for metrology and inspection in semiconductor manufacturing. In addition, electrical defects such as short circuits and unintentional insulation appear as contrast differences called voltage contrast (VC) in SEM under low acceleration voltage conditions. Moreover, by using pulsed electron beams from a photocathode, the probe current can be arbitrarily changed by pixel in the SEM image. Using this technology, we succeeded in observing the change in the VC of the drain in the metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) by changing in electron beam irradiation on the gate only. In this study, to estimate the threshold voltage of n-type MOSFET (nMOS) from VC, we investigated quantitative changes in the specimen current of the drain (Id) and the gate (Ig) due to gate e-beam irradiation ON/OFF during SEM imaging. The landing energy of the electron beam was set to 0.8 keV, the probe current was 6.3 pA, and the e-beam was irradiated onto only the gate and drain electrodes. Id and Ig, which showed a positive value at the beginning, decreased with time, and saturated at negative values. When the electron beam irradiation to the gate was turned OFF, the Id decreased further and reached saturation. When the gate e-beam irradiation was turned ON again, Ig recovered to a positive and then saturated again to a negative value. On the other hand, the drain Id increased when the gate irradiation was turned ON and returned to the same value as before it was turned OFF.

DOI： 10.1117/12.3009947

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Publisher：Proceedings of SPIE the International Society for Optical Engineering  

The scanning electron microscope (SEM) with photocathode technology was launched by retrofitting the photocathode electron gun to a commercial-based SEM system. In this SEM system, the excitation laser for photoelectron generation from the photocathode is synchronized to the scanning signal. SEM images were obtained by high-speed modulation of the photoelectron beam current using the photocathode SEM, where the location in the field of view and its irradiation current were arbitrarily selected on a pixel-by-pixel basis (Selective e-Beaming technology). As a demonstration experiment contributing to non-contact electrical inspection, low-voltage SEM imaging of MOS-FET structures in 3D-NAND flash memory was performed using this selective e-beam technology. As a result, changes in the voltage contrast of the drain electrode were observed in response to on/off selective electron beam irradiation to the gate electrode in the MOS-FET structure. As an extension of the selective electron beaming technology, a Yield Controlled e-beaming (YCeB) technology was invented to control the secondary electron yield generated in the entire field of view of the SEM image by feedback control of the laser power irradiating the photocathode to the intensity of each pixel in the SEM image. The YCeB image, in which the laser power intensity corresponding to the probe intensity is modulated so that the secondary electron yield generated in the entire field of view of the SEM image is constant, is a clearer image with less noise than the original SEM image.

DOI： 10.1117/12.2657853

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Publisher：Proceedings of SPIE the International Society for Optical Engineering  

An InGaN photocathode with a negative electron affinity (NEA) surface is suitable for industrial use because of features such as a long quantum efficiency lifetime, availability with a visible laser as an excitation light source, and the presence of a transmission-type structure. The first objective is the development of an InGaN photocathode electron gun that can be mounted on a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the evaluation of the electron beam size at the emission point, maximum emission current, and transverse energy of the electron beam, which are important factors for realizing a high probe current in the SEM. The second objective is the evaluation of emission current stability, while the third objective is the generation of a pulsed electron beam and multi-electron beam from the InGaN photocathode. The parameters of the electron beam from the photocathode electron gun were an emission beam radius of 1 µm, transverse energy of 44 meV, and an emission current of up to 110 µA. Using a high beam current with low transverse energy from the photocathode, a 13 nA probe current with 10 nm SEM resolution was observed with 15 µA emission. At 15 µA, the continuous electron beam emission for 1300 h was confirmed; at 30 µA, the cycle time between the NEA surface reactivations was confirmed to be 90 h with 0.043% stability. Moreover, a 4.4 ns pulsed e-beam with a 4.7 mA beam current was generated, and a 5 × 5 multielectron beam with 12% uniformity was then obtained. The advantages of the InGaN photocathode, such as high electron beam current, low transverse energy, long quantum efficiency lifetime, pulsed electron beam, and multi-electron beam, are useful in industries including semiconductor device inspection tools.

DOI： 10.1117/12.2657032

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Language：English   Publisher：THE JAPAN SOCIETY FOR AERONAUTICAL AND SPACE SCIENCES  

DOI： 10.2322/tjsass.66.10

Open Access

Web of Science

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CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B  

The dependence of the electron emission current density on the excitation power density of a Cs/O-activated negative electron affinity (NEA) InGaN photocathode was investigated. The emission current density of the NEA-InGaN photocathode increased monotonically with the excitation power density in the measured range. The emission current density reached 5.6 × 103 A/cm2 at an excitation power density of 2.6 × 106 W/cm2. Using the electron thermal energy estimated by comparing simulation and experimental results [D. Sato, H. Shikano, A. Koizumi, T. Nishitani, Y. Honda, and H. Amano, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 39, 062209 (2021)], the reduced brightness of 4 × 108 A/m2 sr V was derived.

DOI： 10.1116/6.0002124

DOI： 10.1116/6.0002124

Scopus

Publisher：Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B  

Pulsed electron beams from a photocathode using an InGaN semiconductor have brought selectively scanning technology to scanning electron microscopes, where the electron beam irradiation intensity and area can be arbitrarily selected within the field of view in SEM images. The p-type InGaN semiconductor crystals grown in the metalorganic chemical vapor deposition equipment were used as the photocathode material for the electron beam source after the surface was activated to a negative electron affinity state in the electron gun under ultrahigh vacuum. The InGaN semiconductor photocathode produced a pulsed electron beam with a rise and fall time of 3 ns, consistent with the time structure of the irradiated pulsed laser used for the optical excitation of electrons. The InGaN photocathode-based electron gun achieved a total beam operation time of 1300 h at 15 μA beam current with a downtime rate of 4% and a current stability of 0.033% after 23 cycles of surface activation and continuous beam operation. The InGaN photocathode-based electron gun has been installed in the conventional scanning electron microscope by replacing the original field emission gun. SEM imaging was performed by selective electron beaming, in which the scanning signal of the SEM system was synchronized with the laser for photocathode excitation to irradiate arbitrary regions in the SEM image at arbitrary intensity. The accuracy of the selection of regions in the SEM image by the selective electron beam was pixel by pixel at the TV scan speed (80 ns/pix, 25 frame/s) of the SEM.

DOI： 10.1116/6.0002111

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Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology B  

The photocurrent from a semiconductor photocathode with a negative-electron affinity surface can be arbitrarily controlled by the excitation laser power. Applying this characteristic to a scanning electron microscope allows the probe current to be arbitrarily controlled at any location on the sample. A photocathode with a fast time response is required to control the probe current at high speed. This study used an InGaN photocathode for pulsed electron beam generation and investigated its time response. A pulsed electron beam with 3.8 ns pulse width and 8.1 × 103 A cm-2 current density was observed, and the rise and fall times of the photocurrent were found to be 1.7 and 2.0 ns, respectively. The results show that despite the bottleneck of the time response of the laser power, the InGaN photocathode generates an electron beam that can control the probe current on a pixel-by-pixel for a 270 MHz scan speed.

DOI： 10.1116/6.0002122

Scopus

Publisher：Applied Physics Letters  

Photocathodes with negative electron affinity (NEA) characteristics have various advantages, such as small energy spread, high spin polarization, and ultrashort pulsing. Nitride semiconductors, such as GaN and InGaN, are promising materials for NEA photocathodes because their lifetimes are longer than those of other materials. In order to further prolong the lifetime, it is important to better understand the deterioration of NEA characteristics. The adsorption of residual gases and back-bombardment by ionized residual gases shorten the lifetime. Among the adsorbed residual gases, H2O has a significant influence. However, the adsorption structures produced by the reaction with H2O are not comprehensively studied so far. In this study, we investigated adsorption structures that deteriorated the NEA characteristics by exposing InGaN and GaAs to an H2O environment and discussed the differences in their lifetimes. By comparing the temperature-programmed desorption curves with and without H2O exposure, the generation of CsOH was confirmed. The desorption of CsOH demonstrated different photoemission behaviors between InGaN and GaAs results. InGaN recovered its NEA characteristics, whereas GaAs did not. Considering the Cs desorption spectra, it is difficult for an NEA surface on InGaN to change chemically, whereas that for GaAs changes easily. The chemical reactivity of the NEA surface is different for InGaN and GaAs, which contributes to the duration of photoemission. We have attempted to prolong the lifetime of InGaN by recovering its NEA characteristics. We found that InGaN with NEA characteristics can be reused easily without thermal treatment at high temperatures.

DOI： 10.1063/5.0125344

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Publisher：Applied Surface Science  

A high quantum efficiency (QE) can be obtained on negative electron affinity (NEA) surfaces. It is well-known that NEA surfaces can be formed on semiconductor materials such as GaAs by the alternating supply of cesium (Cs) and oxygen (O<inf>2</inf>), which is called the yo-yo method. While GaN and related compounds such as InGaN are expected to realize an NEA photocathode with a long lifetime, the surface reactions between GaAs and nitride semiconductors are completely different with respect to the increasing rate of QE induced by the supply of O<inf>2</inf>. In addition, the surface processes of photoemission from NEA nitride semiconductors have not yet been elucidated. In the present study, a higher QE was achieved in InGaN by simultaneously supplying Cs and O<inf>2</inf> instead of using the conventional yo-yo method. The possible Cs adsorption states in relation to the photoemission are also discussed based on the QE tendencies and the temperature programmed desorption (TPD) spectra of the NEA surfaces formed under elevated temperature conditions. This study suggests that the Cs oxide species, which is one of the key compounds for imparting the NEA nature, decomposes at approximately 350 °C and that the InGaN-Cs<inf>2</inf>O<inf>2</inf> structure is a possible candidate for NEA photocathodes.

DOI： 10.1016/j.apsusc.2022.153882

Open Access

Web of Science

Scopus

Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Japan Society of Applied Physics  

DOI： 10.11470/jsapmeeting.2022.1.0_1343

CiNii Research