Materials characterization and device analysis for evaluation of semiconductor processes by highly-sophisticated photoelastic stress measurement technique

SIRD (Scanning Infrared Depolarization Imager) and SIREX (Scanning Infrared Stress Explorer) are measurement systems to evaluate and visualize the stress distribution in semiconductor materials and devices. Some main fields of application are crystal growth, high temperature processing of silicon wafers as well as the 3D-structuring of silicon-based microelectronic devices. The used strategies of measurement are different. SIRD and SIREX are equipped with versatile software packages that allow to separate defect-related stress states of interest, for instance slip-lines in GaN-overgrown silicon. Micro-holes fabricated for wafer marking and 3D TSV (through silicon vias) structures have been analyzed with micrometer resolution. (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)