Abstract Conventional focused ion beams (FIB) employing liquid metal ion sources (LMIS) are used to create site specific cross-sections for viewing subsurface features and performing 3D metrology on subsurface structure. Emerging applications incorporate novel materials as well as large structures that interface to decreasing IC dimensions and often require destructive physical analysis. This paper describes a novel instrument in which an inductively coupled plasma ion source is integrated onto a conventional FIB column. It compares this instrument to the existing LMIS FIBs and shows examples that illustrate the capabilities of this tool. This instrument retains the benefits of the conventional LMIS FIB such as high placement accuracy and the ability to immediately obtain high resolution images of the cross-section face without having to transfer it to another tool. It is capable of creating large cross-sections from 10 microns to 1mm in size at about 100 times faster than a conventional FIB.

Tesch, P., Smith, N., Martin, N., & Kinion, D. (2008). High Current Focused Ion Beam Instrument for Destructive Physical Analysis Applications. ISTFA 2008: Conference Proceedings from the 34th International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis, 30910, 7–13.