Xe Plasma vs. Gallium FIB Delayering

Liquid metal ion and plasma beam FIB systems are widely used in the semiconductor industry for TEM lamella preparation, circuit edit, and cross-sectional analysis. This article compares the deprocessing capability of a Ga FIB with that of a Xe plasma FIB. Both systems were used to delayer an Intel 14 nm processor from M8 down to the transistor contacts. As the images in the article show, a 100 × 100 µm window was opened by the Xe plasma FIB and a 20 × 20 µm window was opened with the Ga FIB. Related issues such as processing time, end point detection, and surface roughness are also discussed.