Local lattice strain measurements in semiconductor devices by using convergent-beam electron diffraction

We examined the lattice strain distribution around local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) in a semiconductor device by using highly accurate (1.8 x 10(-4) standard deviation) convergent-beam electron diffraction (CBED) at a nanometer-scale spatial resolution (10 nm in diameter). The nanometer-scale measurement was done by reducing the elastic relaxation using a thick (about 600 nm) sample and by removing the inelastically scattered electrons by means of an electron energy filter. A highly accurate measurement was achieved through the analysis of higher-order Laue zone (HOLZ) patterns using the least-squares fitting of HOLZ line intersection distances between the observations and calculations. Our examination showed that the LOGOS structure gave singularities in strain distributions at the field edge. That is, compressive strain exists in both the vertical and horizontal directions of the substrate, and the shear strain increased there. Most notably, two-dimensional measurements revealed that the singularity of the normal strain in the horizontal direction of the substrate generated at the field edge propagated into the substrate. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.