High-voltage electron-beam-induced-current imaging of microdefects in laser diodes and MESFETs

We have developed a new device characterization technique called High-Voltage Electron-Beam-Induced-Current (HV-EBIC). This technique marks a breakthrough in the art of EBIC, providing a much improved probing depth and spatial resolution without destructive sample preparation procedures. It can probe structures 0.5 /spl mu/m underneath the surface with a spatial resolution better than 0.1 /spl mu/m. It serves as the only nondestructive technique that reveals defect distribution and junction locations with sufficient spatial resolution, and therefore has many potential applications in semiconductor device development, manufacturing, and failure analysis. In this article, we describe the operation principles of HV-EBIC and its advantages over the conventional low-voltage EBIC using Monte Carlo simulation. To demonstrate the power of HV-EBIC, we present some preliminary results on the study of degradation mechanisms in In/sub 0.2/Ga/sub 0.8/As strained quantum-well lasers, and in GaAs metal-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MESFETs).<>