SBIR Phase I: Development of New Pulsing Mechanisms for Local Electrode Atom Probe Analyses of Electronic Materials

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project seeks to adapt the highest spatial resolution analytical technique, atom probe microscopy, to work on silicon-based electronic materials specifically, and semiconductor and insulating materials generally. The semiconductor and information storage industries, large and critical sectors of the US economy, face daunting development tasks which require analytical techniques that provide quantitative three-dimensional images at the atomic scale. Atom probe microscopy is the only known technique that can fill this very large and crucial need but essential research is needed to make it work. The atom probe uses field evaporation to extract one atom at a time from a specimen and determine its identity and location in three dimensions. Our understanding of the basic mechanisms by which field evaporation of silicon occurs must be improved if this technique is to be applied to electronic materials. This research program proposes to systematically explore and document novel methods of achieving the requisite pulsing. The commercial application of this project is in analytical instrumentation to study, develop, and control semiconductor and insulating electronic materials. Microscopy is required for science/technology development in many areas critical to national economy (e.g. advanced materials, microelectronics, and medicine.) As we embark on the century of nanotechnology, it will be essential that microscopy techniques provide a complete picture of materials at the atomic scale. No other existing imaging or analytical technology can determine the 3-D atomic structure with the resolution and elemental identification capabilities of the atom probe. Therefore, development of methods to broaden the types of materials that may be analyzed with the atom probe, as is the goal of this project, will substantially impact the development of new microelectronic devices, new nanotechnologies, and new science.