Advanced Microcalorimeter Instrumentation for X-Ray Microanalysis

An innovative superconducting transition edge sensor (TES) microcalorimeter array with superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) readouts is described for high energy and high spatial resolution X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy and microanalysis. The proposed microcalorimeter instrument offers an energy resolution that is comparable to and potentially even better than wavelength dispersive spectrometers, thereby enabling the resolution of interfering peaks at low energies, while the energy dispersive nature of the microcalorimeter also means that the full X-ray spectrum is immediately available for qualitative and quantitative analysis. The TES microcalorimeter will address and meet a critical need for increasingly high spatial resolution X-ray microanalysis in semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturing and materials research as minimum feature sizes are reduced well below 1 micron. COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: The primary commercial application for the proposed spectrometer with advanced transition edge sensor (TES) microcalorimeter and SQUID readout instrumentation is high resolution X-ray microanalysis for qualitative and quantitative defect analysis in semiconductor manufacturing and materials research.