Improving Failure Analysis by Scanning Transmission Electron Diffraction Microscopy with Beam Precession

The significance of scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) in failure analysis has surged since the introduction of advanced technology nodes, which have become increasingly miniaturized and more complex. Four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM) is an innovative electron diffraction technique that expands conventional STEM imaging and EDX mapping, enabling phase and orientation mapping of crystalline and amorphous phases in deposited thin films at nanometer resolution. Enhancing electron diffraction data with beam precession is crucial for higher accuracy and precision, particularly in the case of strain measurements. The efficacy of precession-assisted 4D-STEM analysis is illustrated through examples, such as the separation of germanium within a Ge-rich GeSbTe layer in a phase memory device. These advanced electron diffraction measurements are now accessible to a wide range of users in routine analytical procedures, thanks to unprecedented levels of automation and synchronization in the new analytical STEM instrument, TESCAN TENSOR.