Avoiding SEM-induced Device Degradation Through Semi-Blind Nanoprobing

Abstract This study demonstrates that electron beam-induced degradation critically limits the use of SEM-based nanoprobing for advanced semiconductor devices, particularly for beam-sensitive structures such as FETs in 22 nm FD-SOI technology. Continuous SEM exposure at 100 eV and 200 eV beam energies caused significant, non-reversible threshold voltage shifts. While a 100 eV beam energy substantially slows degradation, it reduces image quality and increases acquisition time, limiting practical advantages during manual probe placement that requires extended imaging. A semi-blind probe positioning approach effectively mitigates beam damage by reducing the required SEM images by approximately two orders of magnitude, enabling reliable probe placement with minimal cumulative exposure.