Diebold’s Research Group

Alain Diebold

Empire Innovation Professor of Nanoscale Science
Executive Director Center of Nanoscale Metrology
Executive Director New York Center of National Competitiveness in Nanoscale Characterization (NC)3
[email protected]

Professor Diebold received his PhD from the Department of Chemistry at Purdue University in 1979 under the guidance of Professor Steve Ademan. His thesis was titled: A Generalized Langevin Equation Approach to Gas – Solid Surface Scattering. His post-doctoral work was with Professor Nick Winograd at Pennsylvania State University in the area of angle resolved secondary ion mass spectrometry studies of single crystal surface phenomena. Alain recently became a professor at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at the University at Albany. His research will focus on the impact of nanoscale dimensions on the physical properties of materials; he also continues to work in the area of nanoelectronics metrology. He is a member of the International Metrology Technical Working Group, founder and co-chair of the U.S. Metrology Technical Working Group for the 2007 International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors, and chair of the Manufacturing Science and Technology Group of the American Vacuum Society. He was a SEMATECH Senior Fellow, with the main focus of his activities involving metrology industry coordination. He has edited the Handbook of Silicon Semiconductor Metrology, published in June 2001; is a Panel Member for the Metrology section of Future Fab International; and, he has co-edited three books that are conference proceedings from Characterization and Metrology for ULSI Technology and its predecessor conference. He also worked at Allied Signal in the areas of molecular beam epitaxy of III-V compounds and materials characterization of a broad range of semiconductor and amorphous metal products.

Ezra Mel Pasikatan

Ezra Pasikatan is a PhD candidate at SUNY Polytechnic Institute. The topic of his dissertation is Advanced Characterization and Metrology of 3D Memory film Stacks and Structures using Mueller Matrix Ellipsometry based Scatterometry. Ezra obtained a masters in nanoscale engineering at SUNY Poly in 2022 and has a bachelor's in chemical engineering from Oregon State University. Before going to graduate school, he spent eight years in the semiconductor industry as an engineer at ASML and Wafertech (TSMC Fab 11). As an applications engineer at ASML, he helped introduce a type of diffraction-based overlay metrology capital equipment into a customer's technology development Fab in Hillsboro, Oregon. He also has managed mature fab toolsets ranging from defect review, thin film, overlay and SEMs as a metrology equipment engineer at Wafertech. His goal is to contribute as to projects at the cutting edge of semiconductor technology.

Alumni Members

Madhulika Korde

Metrology Engineer at Nova
[email protected]

Ms. Madhulika Korde is a PhD graduate student at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany, NY. Her current research focuses on the characterization of Si/SiGe FinFETs and contact holes for Gate-All-Around Transistors for the development of advanced technology nodes. The most critical metrology techniques used for this project are Scatterometry, Reciprocal Space X-Ray Diffraction and Critical-Dimension Small Angle X-Ray Scattering. In addition, she has formal training in diverse metrology techniques, semiconductor devices, process control and has studied organic emulsion stability. She is eager to explore the numerous opportunities available in the fields of nanoelectronics, nanoarchitecture and metrology. Madhulika completed her Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering at the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, India. Her previous work includes organic polymer based-photovoltaic cells, emulsification and de-emulsification technology and the study of magneto-caloric materials. Her novel work on the de-emulsification of an organic industrial mixture provided a practically feasible solution and has been integrated into the compound synthesis process by VAL Organics India Ltd. Her strong interest in materials and their integration into functional devices drove her towards pursuing Nanoscale Engineering at The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at SUNY Polytechnic Institute. Looking ahead, she would like to contribute towards the development of novel 3D structures using optimized functional materials for the semiconductor industry.

Amir Kordijazi 

Interdisciplinary Materials Scientist
[email protected]

Amir Kordijazi is an interdisciplinary materials scientist with research interest in applying data science and materials informatics techniques in design, synthesis, characterization, and optimization of advanced nanoscale materials. He received his PhD with a major in Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering and a minor in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, in 2021. His doctoral research focused on applying data-driven techniques to design adsorbent materials for water treatment application. He subsequently joined the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at SUNY Polytechnic Institute, NY, as a postdoctoral associate. He is currently working at the Center of Metrology in close collaboration with a group of scientists from Tokyo Electron US to apply artificial intelligence and machine learning for design, characterizations, and optimization of new generations of nanoscale semiconductor materials."

Colin Wadsworth

Colin Wadsworth graduated SUNY Polytechnic Institute College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering with a bachelors in Nanoscale Science and a minor in physics in 2022 with a focus in characterization and metrology of different nanoscale structures. Research areas are using different measurement techniques to analyze nanoscale structure such as Mueller Matrix Ellipsometry based scatterometry and XRD. He also trains graduate and undergraduate students in using the RC2 ellipsometer and the CompleteEase software to measure and model different structures. He interned at Global Foundries working in the Optical Hybrid Metrology group, where he helped optimize different optical models to improve the accuracy of critical dimension measurements. Currently a graduate student at the University of Minnesota pursuing a doctorate in material science. In the future, he hopes to contribute to the material science field through understanding and discovering new materials and their behaviors.

Vineetha Mukundan

Research Scientist
[email protected]

Vineetha Mukundan joined the group as a postdoctoral associate in October 2017. She obtained her PhD in Physics from Purdue University, Indiana, USA in 2014 (Dissertation: Structural characterization of multimetallic nanoparticles). Before coming to CNSE, she has worked on materials characterization of fuel cell catalytic nanoparticles, molecular electronics and fluid mechanics of clay particles. She has sustained interests in areas of condensed matter physics, statisitical mechanics and non-linear dynamics. Her main role at CNSE is to provide materials characterization and metrology by different techniques (including synchrotron based) of high k-dieletric thin films developed by TEL Technology Center, America for the continued scaling of CMOS devices. While not at work, Vineetha pursues amateur photography, traveling, hiking in the woods and Indian classical carnatic music.

YongQiang An

YongQiang An received his PhD in Physics from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2003, in the area of optical second-harmonic generation at Si surfaces. Thereafter, he worked as a postdoc at the University of California at Berkeley (2003-2004), the University of Texas at Austin (2004-2008), and Los Alamos National Laboratory (2008-2011), on a variety of projects in the areas of nonlinear optics and ultrafast spectroscopy. He developed a new technique for measuring the phase of second-order susceptibility tensors and his work on UO2 opened a new field of research-ultrafast dynamics of 5f electrons. Y. Q. An has continued to pursue his research goals in femtosecond spectroscopy of electronic materials, joining the group in 2012.

Sonal Dey

Metrology Engineer (GLOBALFOUNDRIES)

Sonal Dey joined the group as a postdoctoral associate in December, 2014. He obtained his PhD in Physics from Kent State University, Ohio, USA in 2013 (dissertation title: Elasticity of Main Chain Liquid Crystal Elastomers and its Relationship to Liquid Crystal Microstructure). Before coming to CNSE, he worked as a postdoctoral research associate with Prof. Robert Mayanovic at Missouri State University, investigating the physicochemical properties of various functional nanoscale and mesoporous materials and structure-property relationship and theoretical modelling in glasses, melts and amorphous materials. His primary responsibility is to provide the metrology R&D efforts (both at synchrotron facilities and at CNSE) necessary for characterizing the next generation high-k dielectric films and metal gate materials, developed in a collaborative research program between TEL Technology Center, America and Professor Diebold’s Research group. Apart from research, Sonal enjoys playing chess and likes to travel.

Avery Green

Avery Green received a BS in Physics with a minor in Mathematics from the University of California at San Diego. While working on his BS degree, he worked in an isotopic chemistry lab, designing and building a thin film deposition system in order to model isotopic reactions on the surfaces of meteors. He joined the group in 2013, and is currently working on Topological Insulator-related metrology.

Sam O’Mullane

Applications Scientist (Nanometrics)
PhD Nanoscale Science, 2015

Sam received his MSc. in Quantum Field & Fundamental Force Theory from Imperial College London in 2013 and his BS in Physics from Boston College in 2012. He defended his thesis on plasmonic enhancements in ellipsometric measurements of metal lines in November 2015. He currently works on scatterometry for Nanometrics.

Dhairya Dixit

Metrology Engineer (GLOBALFOUNDRIES)
PhD Nanoscale Engineering, 2015

Dhairya received a BS in Metallurgy and Materials science Engg (2008 – 2012) from Faculty of Technology and Engineering (Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda). His project was Characterization and property evaluation of CuInSe2 thin film prepared from nanocrystalline powder. He completed and defended his thesis on semiconductor-related CD scatterometry in August 2015, and is currently working on scatterometry for IBM.

Relja Vasic

Postdoctoral Research Associate (2011-2014)
PhD Physics, Florida State University (2007)

Relja received his PhD in Physics from the Florida State University at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory in 2007. Later, he worked at National Research Council as a postdoctoral fellowship at North Carolina State University studying multiferroic materials. worked on the characterization of high k gate dielectrics.

Manasa Medikonda

Metrology Engineer (GLOBALFOUNDRIES)
PhD Nanoscale Engineering, 2014

Manasa Medikoda received her Masters of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of New York University, NY in 2011 and Bachelor’s degree in Electronics & Communications Engineering from MVIT college, Bangalore, India in 2008. She completed and defended her thesis on High resolution X-ray diffraction and optical characterization of fully strained pseudomorphic SiGe and GeSn alloy layers in July 2014, and is currently working in engineering for Global Foundries.

Gangadhara Raja Muthinti

Metrology Engineer (IBM)
PhD Nanoscale Engineering, 2013

Gangadhara Raja Muthinti received his B.E in Chemical Engineering from Andhra University College of Engineering, India in April 2007. Later, he joined the Department of Chemical & Bio-Molecular Engineering at Clarkson University, New York in Fall 2007 to perform research on Process Intensified (PI) Modules for process industries. His research was to understand and predict the mass transfer characteristics of a Rotating Tube Reactor (RTR), one of the state of the art intensified modules present in the field of Process Intensification. He graduated in December 2009 and received his Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering. Later, he worked as an intern for a start up company R3 Fusion Inc., Troy, NY and was a lead member in designing and installing a patent pending process module for several industrial clients. He joined the group in Fall 2010 and graduated with his PhD in Nano Engineering at the University at Albany-SUNY in 2013, in The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering.

Florence Nelson

Metrology Engineer (IBM)
PhD Nanoscale Engineering (2012)

Florence Nelson received a BS in Electrical Engineering, Minor in Computer Science, from State University of New York at New Paltz in December 2007. From 2004-2008 she worked at IBM Poughkeepsie in the Server Technology Group as a Product Safety and EMC intern.

LayWai Kong

DETD/Senior Process Engineer (Intel)
PhD Nanoscale Engineering (2011)

LayWai received a BS in Applied Physics and a Minor in Music from University Sains Malaysia in May 2005. After her graduation she worked as a Failure Analysis Engineer for National Semiconductor, Malaysia. With her industrial experience she joined University of Massachusetts Dartmouth for her Masters in Physics and graduated in 2008. She worked on Microfluidics-Nitrate Sensor ( Master’s Thesis). She later joined Dr. Diebold’s group and worked on IR and Acoustic microscopy of 3-D interconnects.

Vimal Kamineni

Principal Research Engineer (GLOBALFOUNDRIES)
PhD Nanoscale Science (2011)

Vimal Kamineni received a dual degree in BE in Electronics & Instrumentation and a MS in Physics from Birla Institute of Technology & Science in Pilani in December 2004. He joined Louisiana Tech University in fall 2005 and worked on advanced characterization techniques (EXAFS & XANES) at Center for Advanced Microstructures & Devices, Baton Rouge. His research at Louisiana Tech University was on hydrogen storage materials (supported by the National Science Foundation, Division of Materials Research), and he graduated with a dual degree in MS in Molecular Science & Nanotechnology and a MS in Microsystems Engineering. He joined the group in fall 2007 and is pursuing his PhD in Nanoscale Science at the University at Albany-SUNY, in The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. He worked on the development of robust optical models for thin metal films using Variable Angle Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (VASE). He also characterized the pore size, shape, distribution and interconnectivity in porous low-k dielectrics using X-ray Reflectivity (XRR), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and the IBM-X20 beam lines at the National Synchrotron Light Source at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York.

Tianhao Zhang

Senior Engineer (KLA-Tencor)
Postdoctoral Research Associate (2011)
PhD Physics, University of Colorado (2008)

Tianhao Zhang received the PhD degree in Physics in May, 2008 from JILA, a joint institute of NIST and University of Colorado at Boulder. Under the direction of Dr. Steven T. Cundiff, he developed optical two-dimensional Fourier-transform spectroscopy as a novel technique for the studies of exciton dynamics, many-body interactions, and disorders in semiconductor nanostructures. He started postdoctoral research in the group in Nov. 2008, and worked on the characterization of nanoscale materials and structures with linear and nonlinear optical methods including second harmonic generation and photoreflectance. He received BS and MS degrees from University of Science and Technology of China before coming to USA.

Eric Bersch

Metrology Engineer (GLOBALFOUNDRIES)
Postdoctoral Research Associate (2011)
PhD Physics, Rutgers University (2008)

Eric Bersch graduated from Rutgers University with a PhD in Physics in July, 2008. At Rutgers, he worked under the direction of Dr. Robert Bartynski using photoemission and inverse photoemission spectroscopies to measure the energy level alignment of two types of material systems: metal/oxide/semiconductor stacks with high-k oxides and organic dye/oxides. A third project he worked on was the measurement of the electronic structure of the stoichiometric and reduced SnO2(101) surface. Previous to his work at Rutgers, he taught physics and coached basketball and soccer at Pompton Lakes High School for 5 years.

Joshua LaRose

MS Nanoscale Engineering (2011)
Applications Engineer (Tokyo Electron Ltd)

Joshua LaRose received a BS in Physics with a minor in Mathematics from the State University of New York at Albany in May 2009. While working on his BS degree, he worked on ion beam materials analysis, as well as rare Earth doped Silicon crystals for spintronic applications. He joined the group in 2009, and worked on the characterization of High-k gate dielectrics

Ming Di

PhD Nanoscale Science (2010)
Applications Manager (KLA-Tencor)

Ming Di received a BS in Physics from Fudan University, Shanghai, China in May 2002. He has received his PhD at the University at Albany-SUNY, in the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and his thesis title is”INVESTIGATION OF THE THRESHOLD VOLTAGE SHIFT EFFECT OF La2O3 ON TiN/HfO2/La2O3/SiO2/Si STACKS”.

Topical Areas of Research

Physics of Confined Structures

Optical measurements provide an excellent means of characterizing quantum confinement and its impact on the optical response of 1D, 2D, and 3D confined structures. Low temperature photoluminescence provides an excellent means of measuring the exciton binding energy, observing electron – hole liquids, and characterizing carrier lifetime.

Semiconductor Nanoelectronics

All areas of silicon semiconductor characterization and metrology are challenged by the research, development, and manufacturing needs associated with new materials and processes. One focus area is in the characterization and in-line metrology of high k / metal gate film stacks. By combining materials characterization methods including X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (lab and synchrotron based), Ion Backscattering, X-Ray Diffraction and X-Ray Reflectivity with in line methods such as ellipsometry, we have advanced optical models for the high k dielectrics and the thin metal gate films. Correlation with C-V is always a priority.

We also work in the area of on chip interconnect films and in 3D Through Silicon Via (TSV) metrology. Again, we use the approach of understanding the materials properties through a combined characterization and then develop the appropriate in-line measurement methods. Scanning Acoustic Microscopy provides useful views of the interface between bonded wafers. IR microscopy is well suited to measuring overlay registration. X-Ray microscopy is an excellent means of characterizing voids in the copper TSV structures.

Measurement Methods

Ellipsometry and Scatterometry

Equipment: Woollam Spectroscopic Ellipsometers – VUV VASE, IR-VASE, RC2

Scatterometry: NanoDiffract (Mueller Matrix) software

Ellipsometry is a power measurement method capable of determining both film thickness and the dielectric function (complex refractive index) of a material or structure. Optical properties are determined from the change in polarization of elliptically polarized light after reflection from a surface. Spectroscopic ellipsometry has the advantage of measuring optical properties over a range of photon energies. We have laboratory ellipsometers that cover a wide range of wavelengths from 30 microns (Far IR) to 150 nm (VUV). Our in-line ellipsometer covers the range from the near IR to 150 nm in the VUV. The RC2 spectroscopic ellipsometer obtains the complete 16 Mueller Matrix elements vs wavelength.

Using advanced analysis, ellipsometry is capable of measuring the shift in critical points due to quantum confinement of thin semiconductor layers. Ellipsometry provides materials characterization of insulators, semiconductors, and thin metal films. Using advanced software, scatterometry can determine the cross-sectional shape and dimension of lines or contact holes when spectroscopic ellipsometry is used to characterize a grating structure.

The determination of the average shape and dimensions of a lithographically patterned grating structure using Mueller Matrix spectroscopic ellipsometry and a Rigorous Coupled Wave Approximation to solve Maxwell’s equations is known as Scatterometry. (See- Perspective: Optical measurement of feature dimensions and shapes by scatterometry, A.C. Diebold, A. Antonelli, N. Keller, APL Mat. 6, (2018), 058201: abstract: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.50).

Photoluminescence

Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy is a nondestructive optical metrology technique that is used to characterize the electronic structure of materials. The process of absorption of photons of higher energy than the bandgap of the material, and the resulting emission of lower energy photons is the fundamental principle behind PL.ⁱ The photo-excitation in the PL measurements was carried out using a 355 nm optically pumped semiconductor laser (OPSL). Circularly polarized light is available for selective excitation of K vs K’ photoluminescence from transition metal dichalcogenides.

ⁱ S. Perkowitz, Optical Characterization of Semiconductors: Infrared, Raman, and Photoluminescence Spectroscopy (Academic Press, New York, 1993).

Photoreflectance

Photoreflectance is a modulation spectroscopy used to study the properties of semiconductor surfaces and interfaces. The change in reflectance is measured while the built-in electric field in the material being studied is modulated by a pump laser with photon energy higher than the band gap. Sharp derivative spectral features are presented in the region where optical excitation occurs, even in room temperature. Photoreflectance is sensitive to energy band structures, thus characterizes changes in the critical points* of semiconductors and stress, charge trapping in dielectric layers on semiconductors, and dopant concentrations in III-V materials.

*A critical point is a region along the band structure where a high probability of absorption exists. Critical points are found in the band structure in k-space where the energy separation E between the valence and conduction band is nearly constant. These regions of k-space result in large joint density of states and are referred to as critical points in the Brillouin zone.

Second Harmonic Generation

Equipment: Newport Spectra-Physics Femto Second Lasers (Tsunami, Spitfire, TOPAS)

Optical second harmonic generation is a non-linear optical characterization method that is highly sensitive to interfaces and spin states. The second harmonic output (i.e. the photons produced at twice the probe light frequency) is produced by nonlinear optical processes. For example SHG be used to probe the interface between crystalline silicon and a transparent dielectric layer such as interface of Si(111)/SiO2, Si(001)/SiO2 and reconstructed Si(111) and (100) surfaces. The fact that OSG can observe the surface reconstruction effects on the surface symmetry means that OSG is sensitive to the monolayer thick crystal structures.),. The electric field of the light polarizes the electrons in the lattice. For centro-symmetric crystals such as silicon, the bulk polarization is very weak and only occurs in `electric quadrupole’ contributions. However, the surface breaks this symmetry and the stronger surface dipole effect contributes to the observed signal. For non-centro-symmetric crystals such as GaAs, the bulk is more easily polarized and bulk signal will be strong. SHG is also sensitive to the electric field resulting from charge trapped in a surface oxide layer and can be used to observe changes in defect states in HfO2 films. SHG of nano-scale structures is largely unexplored, and the fact that interfaces dominate these structures makes it an important characterization method.

Other Measurement Capability at SUNY Polytechnic Institute

X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS)

Equipment: Thermo-Fisher VG Theta Probe

X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) is a powerful tool for analyzing materials that are used in integrated circuits. XPS can measure both the core levels and the valence band of materials in the near surface (~70-100 Å) region. One of the primary systems we have studied with XPS is the high-k/metal gate stack. In this stack, if the films are thin enough, core levels from each layer can be measured. This allows us to evaluate the chemical composition of each layer, the band alignment between the layers, and the band bending in the substrate. Another material system we have studied is NiSi/Si, which is critical in the electrical contact between the transistor electrodes and the Cu vias. XPS allowed us to distinguish between Ni and NiSi, and to identify the surface oxide associated with each material. XPS has also enabled the study of the time dependence of the oxidation of Topological Insulator Bi2Se3. This work aided in the development of optical models for spectroscopic ellipsometry analysis of these materials.

Advanced Microscopy

Equipment: FEI (ThermoElectron) Titan/ Aberration Corrected STEM/ with EDS and ELS and JEOL 2010F Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) with EELS

We routinely use advanced microscopy of all types including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), acoustic microscopy, and IR microscopy. Recent advances in TEM have greatly improved image resolution through aberration correction. Of particular interest is scanning TEM (STEM) and electron energy loss analysis. Under optimum conditions, a single atom in an atomic column of a well ordered single crystal can be located using STEM and ELS. We also have a strong interest in high resolution ELS characterization of local chemical bonding at interfaces. The group has MacTempas image simulation software that guides experimental work and aid in image interpretation.

X-ray Metrology

Synchrotron based GI-I-XRD

Grazing Incidence – In plane- X-Ray Diffraction and Pole Figure Analysis of grain texture is done at Synchrotron facilities such as Brookhaven National Laboratory’s NSLS-II. This capability is sued to determine the crystal phase of ultra-thin high K and metal gate structures.

Equipment: BEDE Metrix-L X-Ray Tool

High-Resolution X-Ray Diffraction (HRXRD) : Is used to measure structural parameters in highly perfect materials such as epitaxial layers on single-crystal substrates. Bede RADS software uses full dynamical diffraction theory, the Takagi-Taupin equations, to calculate patterns expected from a given structure.

• Epitaxial structures

• Alloy composition of layers and layer mismatch

• Layer thicknesses

• Relaxation

• Offcut, and tilt between layers and substrate

• Superlattice and MQW period

High Resolution Triple Axis Diffraction : A reciprocal space map can be built up by scanning Omega- 2Theta for different offset Omega angles, to give a picture of the complete diffracted intensity distribution about a particular reciprocal lattice point. An Omega scan in triple axis therefore investigates the tilt mosaic at a given d-spacing. An Omega-2Theta scan investigates the variations in strain at a given tilt angle. In double axis HRXRD, both these effects, if present in the sample, are collected in the detector at the same time. Triple axis HRXRD separates them. Current research includes characterization of multilayer Si/SiGe/Si/SiGe/Si/SiGe/Si/SiGe/Si film stacks.

High Resolution X-Ray Reflectivity (HRXRR) : Also known as “grazing incidence X-ray scattering” is a means of measuring layer thickness (less than ~ 500 nm), density and surface and interface roughness (less than ~ 3 nm rms).

The web site for the 2025 ICSE-10 is Online  

The web site for the 2025 ICSE-10 (The International Conference on Spectroscopic Ellipsometry 10) is now online at https://icse10.ellipsometry.us/. The conference will be held in Boulder, CO June 8 - 13, 2025. Conference co-chairs are Mathias Schubert (U. Nebraska), David Aspnes (NCSU), Eva Schubert (U. Nebraska) and Alain Diebold (CNSE).

CHIPS act at the AVS 70 National Symposium

There will be a special session on the CHIPS act at the AVS 70 National Symposium in Tampa, FL. You can find the most up to date details at AVS70.

CHIPS act at the AVS 69 National Symposium

There will be a special session on the CHIPS act at the AVS 69 National Symposium in Portland, OR hosted by the Manufacturing Science and Technology Group. You can find the most up to date details at https://avs69.avs.org/.

2024 Frontiers of Characterization and Metrology for Nanoelectronics

The 2024 Frontiers of Characterization and Metrology for Nanoelectronics will be held in Monterey, CA. Conference co-chairs are J. Alex Liddle, Paul van der Heide (IMEC), Markus Kuhn (Rigaku), Zhihong Ma (INTEL), and Alain Diebold (CNSE).

International Conference on Spectroscopic Ellipsometry  

The International Conference on Spectroscopic Ellipsometry 10 will be held in Boulder, CO June 8 - 13, 2025. The conference co-chairs are Mathias Schubert (U. Nebraska), David Aspnes (NCSU), and Alain Diebold (CNSE).

POD CAST on Semiconductor Characterization and Metrology

Markus Kuhn recently interviewed Alain Diebold for a Pod Cast on Understanding Semiconductors. This Pod Cast provides an early look at semiconductor characterization and metrology at SEMATECH and how it evolved along with the industry. https://rsmd.rigaku.com/newsnusecases/professor-alain-diebold-ph.d.-successes-at-sematech-effective-approach-to-metrology-challenges-and-key-takeaways-from-2022-fcmn-conference          

AVS Hudson Mohawk Chapter

Dr. Alain Diebold is a member of the AVS - Hudson Mohawk Chapter. https://avs.org/about-avs/chapters/avs-regional-chapters/hudson-mohawk/meet-a-member-(alain-diebold)/

New Book titled Optical and Electrical Properties of Nanoscale Materials

Optical and Electrical Properties of Nanoscale Materials (published in December, 2021) by Springer Nature. The book provides an overview of 2D materials including graphene, transition metal dichalcogenides, and topological materials. Many derivations are provided in detail. The authors are Alain Diebold and Tino Hofmann (UNC). https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-80323-0

The Diana Nyyssonen Memorial Best Paper Award 2020/21 Winner at SPIE Advanced Lithography 2021

Congratulations to The Diana Nyyssonen Memorial Best Paper Award 2020/21 Winner: X-ray metrology of nanowire/ nanosheet FETs for advanced technology nodes, Madhulika Korde, R. Joseph Kline, Daniel F. Sunday, Nick Keller, Subhadeep Kal, Cheryl Alix, Aelan Mosden, Alain C. Diebold, Proceedings Volume 11325, Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography XXXIV; 113250W (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2553371 (edited)

Springer

Dr. Diebold is an editor for a new series titled SpringerBriefs in Materials.

Research highlighted in Semiconductor Engineering

Our research on Mueller Matrix spectroscopic ellipsometry and CD-small angle X-ray scattering discussed in Semiconductor Engineering article on metrology for gate –all-around transistors.

ICSE 8 Barcelona

The International Conference on Spectroscopic Ellipsometry 8 was held in Barcelona at the World Trade Center from May 26 to 31, 2019. The conference was chaired by M Isabel Alonso and multiple International Organizing Committees.

The more than 300 attendees came from around the world. Tutorials were held on Sunday May 26 as well as a heart-felt session remembering the countless contributions of Manuel Cardona. Both optical properties of new materials such as 2D (Transition Metal Dichalcogenides) and metal oxides (Ga2O3) and equipment (pump – probe ellipsometry and ellipsometry microscopes) were discussed. The Drude award was shared by Eva Bittrich for research in organic and polymer thin films and interfaces and Chris Sturm for extending our understanding of excitonic and band-band transitions for all classes of crystals especially biaxial anisotropic materials.  Previous Drude award winner have continued highly successful research efforts in spectroscopic ellipsometry.

Frontiers of Characterization and Metrology for Nanoelectronics – 2019

Monterey, CA April 1 -5, 2019
https://www.nist.gov/pml/fcmn-publications-and-talks/2019-fcmn-presentations

AVS 65th International Symposium & Exhibition

Long Beach, CA Oct. 18 -23, 2018
Focus Topic on Spectroscopic Ellipsometry
Focus Topic on Manufacturing Science and Technology

TOM 6 - Frontiers in Optical Metrology

European Optical Society Biannual Meeting, Oct. 8-12, 2018
https://www.old.myeos.org/events/eosam2018_tom6

Sonal Dey meets New York State Congressman Paul Tonko at the A2 beamline at CHESS

Congressman Paul Tonko also serves as a member of the Science, Space and Technology Committee, and the subcommittee on Research and Technology, which has jurisdiction over non-defense federal scientific research and development. Sonal demonstrated to Congressman Tonko the growing need of using a national synchrotron facility like CHESS in elucidating the physicochemical properties of thin film structures, and nanoscale patterned wafers which are being researched for use in next generation semiconductor chips, computers, cell phones, and internet of things, to name a few.

Avery J. Green’s article selected as Editor’s Pick by JVSTA

His recent work, entitled Surface oxidation of the topological insulator Bi₂Se₃, was selected by the Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A for its application to the rapidly growing field of topological materials. The article constitutes a multi-experimental approach to measuring the time-dependent surface quality of Bi₂Se₃. (Link)

Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A publishes reports of original research, letters, and review articles that focus on fundamental scientific understanding of interfaces, surfaces, plasmas and thin films and on using this understanding to advance the state-of-the-art in various technological applications. More information about JVSTA can be found at https://scitation.aip.org/content/avs/journal/jvsta.

Sonal Dey featured in CHESS newsletter for metrological work on ALD higher-k dielectrics

His work, now featured in the publication, Role of Ge and Si substrates in higher-k tetragonal phase formation and interfacial properties in cyclical atomic layer deposition-anneal Hf_1−xZr_xO₂/Al₂O₃ thin film stacks, utilizes the CHESS synchrotron source to create high-resolution x-ray diffraction maps. This collaboration provides invaluable information about the orientation, phase, composition, and stress of ultrathin layer stacks. CHESS recognized this work for its high scientific quality, and importance to materials science applications in the semiconductor community.

CHESS is a high-intensity X-ray source supported by the National Science Foundation which provides our users state-of-the-art synchrotron radiation facilities for research in Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Environmental and Materials Sciences. A special NIH Research Resource, called MacCHESS, supports special facilities for macromolecular crystallography and BioSAXS. CHESS-U is the current upgrade that will extend CHESS’s capacity for cutting edge research. For more information on CHESS, visit https://www.chess.cornell.edu/.

Avery J. Green earns award for best student presentation in Spectroscopic Ellipsometry at the 62nd annual AVS Symposium

His presentation, entitled “Structural and ellipsometric analysis of the topological insulator Bi2Se3″ was selected as the best student talk in the focus topic of Spectroscopic Ellipsometry at the 62nd annual AVS Symposium in San Jose, CA.

The AVS International Symposium and Exhibition addresses cutting-edge issues associated with materials, processing, and interfaces in the research and manufacturing communities. The weeklong Symposium fosters a multidisciplinary environment that cuts across traditional boundaries between disciplines, featuring papers from AVS technical divisions, technology groups, and focus topics on emerging technologies. The equipment exhibition is one of the largest in the world and provides an opportunity to view the latest products and services offered by 200+ participating companies. More than 2,000 scientists and engineers gather from around the world to attend.

For more information on the conference, visit https://www.avs.org/symposium

Dhairya J. Dixit earns award for best student paper of 2014 at the Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing Conference (ASMC)

His paper, entitled “Mueller Matrix Optical Scatterometry of Si Fins Patterned using Directed Self-Assembly Block Copolymer Line Arrays” was recognized by the ASMC technical committee for its experimental and analytical quality, as well as its value to the semiconductor community.

ASMC continues to be one of the leading international technical conferences for discussing solutions that improve the collective manufacturing expertise of the semiconductor industry. Solving the challenges presented by semiconductor manufacturing has been a combined effort by device makers, equipment and materials suppliers and academics. Technical presentations at ASMC highlight industry innovations with specific results.

For more information on the conference, visit http://www.semi.org/node/38316

Dr. Alain Diebold, CNSE Empire Innovation Professor of Nanoscale Science recognized as a SPIE Fellow at SPIE Advanced Lithography Conference, San Jose,CA (2013)

He is one of only 69 members of distinction to earn the honor in 2013, which highlights technical achievements and service to the general optics community, as well as service to the society.

Known as the world’s leading nanoelectronics lithography conference and exhibition, the 39th annual SPIE Advanced Lithography conference was held in February 24 through 28 in California at the San Jose Convention Center.

For more information on the conference, visit spie.org

CNSE Student G.Raja Muthinti won the Best Paper Award in Metrology, Inspection, and Process Control for Microlithography XXVII at SPIE Advanced Lithography Conference, San Jose, CA (2013)

A panel of judges from academia, industry, and government honored him during a ceremony for his research paper, “Mueller-based scatterometry measurement of nanoscale structures with anisotropic in-plane optical properties,” based on technical merit and presentation quality.

Muthinti, who is from Vishakapatnam, India, is currently pursuing PhD in Nanoscale Engineering at CNSE.

Award ceremony at the SPIE conference, visit Best Paper Award:Video

CNSE Student Lay Way Kong won second prize for her poster paper at the 11th International Workshop on Stress-Induced Phenomena in Metallization April 12 – 14, 2010 in Dresden, Germany.

This work titled “Sub-imaging techniques for 3D-interconnect on bonded wafer pairs” is a collaboration between CNSE, SEMATECH and the Fraunhofer Institute for Nondestructive Testing Dresden (IZFP-D).

The workshop provided a forum for presenting current research and for discussions on issues related to stress-induced phenomena in on-chip metal interconnects and solder joints. Stresses arising in metal structures and surrounding dielectric materials due to novel process steps, thermal mismatch of thin film materials, electromigration or microstructure changes can lead to degradation and failure of microelectronic products.

The implementation of low dielectric constant materials into the inlaid copper backend-of-line process has brought new challenges for process integration, design optimization and reliability. Understanding stress related phenomena in new materials and structures is critical for development and integration of future metal structures in microelectronic products.