Reflection mode scanning near-field optical microscopy analyses of integrated devices

Ultra-large-scale integrated devices have been investigated by a reflection mode scanning near-field optical microscope designed for semiconductor analyses. Although it could be found that imaging the reflectivity of metal structures buried underneath thin, optically transparent passivation layers is practicable, shading of the reflected light by the SNOM probe complicated the interpretability of the achieved results. This issue has been overcome by using the SNOM probe as both illumination source and detector, simultaneously. The application of focused ion beam milling to the probes has allowed the increase of the transmittivity of the probes to such an extent that coated fibres could be utilized and the interpretability of the results could be enhanced. Furthermore, the investigated structures are of great interest for an investigation of z -motion artefacts, as the presence of the polished passivation layers allows topographical influences to be distinguished from pure optical contrast.