Electronic Engineering & Semiconductor Research Solutions

Want to know more about how our analysis methods can support your research in electronic engineering and semiconductor materials? Whether you’re a student, a researcher, or a professor, we’ve put together some relevant application examples of our solutions in semiconductor research and device processing.

The materials and analytical equipment used in these examples overlap with Materials Science and Engineering, and Physics and Applied Physics, so you may find additional information on those pages. Method abbreviations are explained at the bottom of this page.

Semiconductor research

Our applications in semiconductor research primarily involve high resolution X-ray Diffraction of epitaxial layers. Thin film growth by MBE, MOCVD or CVD are big research areas in Electronic Engineering and Physics departments. This is where we find the highest concentration of our High-Resolution XRD applications. There is a constant quest to develop new semiconductor materials and to overcome the many challenges of incorporating new materials into working devices. The table below provides a selection of application notes that exemplify typical measurements on semiconductor materials. Click on any of the links in the table to discover more!

Semiconductors Research	Method	Sample	Application Note Title (Link)
Epitaxial layers - finding reflections	HR-XRD	GaN / InGaN alloys	Available reflections for coplanar and in-plane XRD of GaN and related alloys
Epitaxial layers - rapid measurements	HR-XRD	InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells	Fast X-ray diffraction measurements on semiconductor structures
Epitaxial layers - thermal stability	HR-XRD	AlInN/GaN/Sapphire	Studying the thermal stability of gallium nitride based high electron mobility transistor structures
Epitaxial layers – strain, composition, and layer thickness	HR-XRD	Gallium Nitride and related compounds	XRD of gallium nitride and related compounds: strain, composition and layer thickness (booklet)
Epitaxial layers - strain, composition, and layer thickness	HR-XRD	GaAs on Ge on Si	Semiconductor thin films. Analysis of III-V solar cells on silicon substrates
Narrow bandgap (IR) semiconductors - film composition, thickness	XRF	InxSy films on glass	Zetium - Analysis of InxSy layers on glass using Stratos
OLED polymers - molecular weight	GPC	Poly(phenylene-vinylene) (PPV) in Chloroform; 2) poly(fluorene-phenylenevinylene)(PF-PPV) in THF; 3) polythiophene (PT) in Chloroform	Conjugated Polymer Analysis by GPC-PDA
Perovskite semiconductors - defects	Reflection Topography	Perovskite LiTaO3	Reflection topography with PIXcel^3D
Phase change materials - crystalline phase identification	XRD / XRR	Germanium Antimony Telluride (Ge2Sb2Te5) PCM	Combining XRR & XRD for in-situ investigation of phase change materials
Thin films - In-plane methods	XRD / HR-XRD	Co films in hard disks, GaN on Sapphire	In-plane diffraction
Thin-film solar cells - overview	XRD / HR-XRD	Solar cell materials, general	X-ray diffraction techniques for characterization of thin film solar cells
Wide bandgap (UV) semiconductors - thin film quality	XRD / XRR	ZnO films on glass	Comprehensive XRD investigation of ZnO thin films

Device processing

Malvern Panalytical’s wafer analyzer is not often employed in university research, but it is worth showing here some of the process fabrication instances where it is employed to measure elemental composition and film thickness. Wafer cutting and polishing is also an important step in device processing and particle size characterization is important to control the quality of cutting and polishing slurries. Click on any of the links in the table to discover more!

Device Processing	Method	Sample	Application Note Title (Link)
Dielectric films - composition, thickness	XRF	Borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG) Dielectric films, Boron, phosphorous, Silicon	Analysis of BPSG films
Diffusion barrier layers - composition, thickness	XRF	Cu/TaNx multilayers on Si wafers	Simultaneous analysis of Cu/TaNx stacks
Diffusion/bonding metallization - composition thickness	XRF	TiNx layers on Si wafers	FP Multi analysis of TiNx thin films on Si substrates
Epitaxial layers -composition	XRF	Ge concentration in Si(1-x)Gex films	Analysis of Si(1-x)Gex films
Ferroelectric/Dielectric films - composition, thickness	XRF	Barium Strontium Titanate (BST) films on Pt	Analysis of barium strontium titanate (BST) films on Pt
Gate connecting layers - thickness	XRF	Tungsten (W) layers	Analysis of W films
Gate technology - layer thickness	XRF	WSix deposition on Silicon	Analysis of WSix films
Giant magnetoresistant multilayers - composition, thickness	XRF	Ta, NiMn, PtMn, CoFe, Cu, NiFe, Al2O3 thin films	Analysis of Giant Magneto Resistance GMR film stacks using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry
Interconnect layers- composition, thickness	XRF	AlCu interconnect layers on S substrate	Analysis of AlCu films
Passivation layers - thickness	XRF	Ni-Ta thin films on Si	Zetium - Analysis of Ni-Ta thin films using Stratos
Read/write heads for hard drives - layer thickness	XRF	CoNiFe films on hard drives	In-line process control of CoNiFe layers in the manufacturing of read/write heads
Wafer cutting slurry - particle size and shape	Imaging	Silicon carbide - abrasive slurry	Analysis of wire saw abrasive slurries to facilitate recycling using the FPIA-3000 automated dynamic image analysis system
Wafer polishing slurry – particle size	ELS / DLS	Silica-based particles in ammonia salt solution, silica-based particles in KOH solution	Characterization of SiO2 Slurry Samples Used in Chemical Mechanical Polishing
Wafer polishing slurry - zeta potential	ELS	SiO2 or Al2O3 particles	Zeta Potential Measurement of Highly Concentrated CMP Slurry Dispersions

略語解説

当社の製品と技術については、製品ページを参照してください。以下では、当社の装置で測定された特性、測定名とその略称を簡単に参照できます。各メソッドをクリックすると、詳細が表示されます。

略語	メソッド名	装置	測定された特性
DLS	動的光散乱法（DLS）	ゼータサイザー	分子サイズ、流体力学的半径R_H、粒子サイズ、粒度分布、安定性、濃度、凝集
ELS	電気泳動光散乱	ゼータサイザー	ゼータ電位、粒子電荷、懸濁液の安定性、タンパク質電気泳動移動度
ITC	等温滴定型カロリメトリー	MicroCal ITC	結合親和性、溶液中の分子反応の熱力学
.dsc	示差走査熱型カロリメトリー	Microcal DSC	大きな分子の変性(アンフォールド)、高分子の安定性
GCI	グレーティング結合干渉法	Creoptix WAVEsystem	リアルタイムの結合反応速度と親和性、流体工学によるラベルフリー
IMG	全自動画像解析	モフォロギ 4	粒子の画像処理、形状、サイズの自動測定
MDRS	Morphologically-Directed Raman Spectroscopy	モフォロギ4-ID	粒子の画像処理、形状、サイズの自動測定、化学的同定、汚染物質の検出
LD	レーザ回折	マスターサイザースプレーテックインシテック Parsum	粒子サイズ、粒度分布
NTA	ナノ粒子トラッキング(軌跡)解析	ナノサイト	粒子サイズ、粒度分布、濃度
SEC または GPC	サイズ排除クロマトグラフィー/ ゲル浸透クロマトグラフィー（GPC）	OmniSEC	分子サイズ、分子量、オリゴマー状態、ポリマーまたはタンパク質のサイズ、分子構造
SPE	融合によるサンプル調製	Le Neo LeDoser Eagon 2 The OxAdvanced M4 rFusion	XRF用溶融ビーズ試料の調製、ICP用過酸化物溶液の調製、ビーズ作製用のフラックス計量
UV/Vis/NIR/ SWIR	紫外線/可視/近赤外線/短波赤外線分光分析	LabSpec FieldSpec TerraSpec QualitySpec	材料識別と分析、水分、鉱物、炭素の含有量。航空および衛星分光分析技術の地上検証。
PFTNA	パルス高速熱中性子活性化	CNA	インライン元素分析
XRD-C	X線回折 (結晶構造解析)	Aeris Empyrean	分子結晶構造の精製、結晶相の同定と定量化、結晶対非結晶比、結晶子径分析
XRD-M	X線回折 (ミクロ構造)	Empyrean X’Pert³ MRD(XL)	残留応力、テクスチャ
XRD-CT	コンピュータ断層撮影法による X線吸収画像処理	Empyrean	固体、気孔率、密度の3D画像処理
SAXS	小角X線散乱法	Empyrean	ナノ粒子、サイズ、形状、構造
GISAXS	斜入射小角X線散乱法	Empyrean	ナノ構造の薄膜と表面
HR-XRD	高解像度X線回折	Empyrean X’Pert³ MRD(XL)	薄膜およびエピタキシャル多層、組成、ひずみ、厚さ、品質
XRR	X線反射率法	Empyrean X’Pert³ MRD(XL)	薄膜と表面、膜厚、表面、界面粗さ
XRF	蛍光X線	Epsilon Zetium Axios FAST 2830 ZT	元素組成、元素濃度、微量元素、汚染物質の検出