Past, present, and future of backscatter electron (BSE) imaging

Abstract

We describe developments in backscattered electron (BSE) imaging in the scanning electron microscope (SEM) beginning with the pioneering work of Von Ardenne and Knoll in Germany in the 1940's and Charles Oatley, Dennis McMullan, Kenneth Smith and others in the 1950's. Recent work on BSE imaging with very high energy (100's of KeV) electron beams, such as the inspection of voids in metallurgy under thick dielectrics in semiconductor back-end-of-the-line (BEOL) structures will be presented. Finally, we will look toward the future of BSE imaging in terms of the SEM's, detectors, and application areas.