3D failure analysis in depth profiles of sequentially made FIB cuts

This paper introduces three-dimensional electrical failure analysis in a dual-beam microscope: two or more nanomanipulators with plugged-in probe needles contact the structures exposed by sequential focused-ion-beam cuts, imaging with the electron beam while milling with the ion beam. After each cut the probes are repositioned to measure the newly revealed structures, building a three-dimensional electrical picture of the sample volume — extendable to capacitance and EBIC mapping of p–n junctions. The technique was developed with Kleindiek and Xilinx’s device-analysis laboratory.