A review of advanced scanning probe microscope analysis of functional films and semiconductor devices

This paper gives an overview of established methods and new developments in the field of Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM) of functional films and semiconductor devices. It focuses on both, SPM analyses of passive structures and devices in operation. The contribution includes techniques such as Scanning Capacitance Microscopy (SCM) and Scanning Spreading Resistance Microscopy (SSRM) for implant mapping, Conductive AFM (C-AFM) for thin dielectrics analysis and Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM) to study the potential distribution across active electronic devices. Finally combinations of different SPM-based techniques are described and future challenges for SPM-based techniques are discussed. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.