Axial ion–electron emission microscopy of IC radiation hardness

A new system for performing radiation effects microscopy (REM) has been developed at Sandia National Laboratory in Albuquerque. This system combines two entirely new concepts in accelerator physics and nuclear microscopy. A radio frequency quadrupole (RFQ) linac is used to boost the energy of ions accelerated by a conventional Tandem Van de Graaff–Pelletron to velocities of 1.9 MeV/amu. The electronic stopping power for heavy ions is near a maximum at this velocity, and their range is 20 μm in Si. These ions therefore represent the most ionizing form of radiation in nature, and are nearly ideal for performing single event effects testing of integrated circuits. Unfortunately, the energy definition of the RFQ-boosted ions is rather poor ( a few %), which makes problematic the focussing of such ions to the submicron spots required for REM. To circumvent this problem, we have invented ion electron emission microscopy (IEEM). One can perform REM with the IEEM system without focussing or scanning the ion beam. This is because the position on the sample where each ion strikes is determined by projecting ion-induced secondary electrons at high magnification onto a single electron position sensitive detector. This position signal is then correlated with each REM event. The IEEM system is now mounted along the beam line in an axial geometry so that the ions pass right through the electron detector (which is annular), and all of the electrostatic lenses used for projection. The beam then strikes the sample at normal incidence which results in maximum ion penetration and removes a parallax problem experienced in an earlier system. Details of both the RFQ-booster and the new axial IEEM system are given together with some of the initial results of performing REM on Sandia-manufactured radiation hardened integrated circuits.