Our new edition of the Newsletter "Market Insights by CORIAL" is now available! Download your copy and read about plasma technology and applications for the Failure Analysis sector

1. In this Issue
For more than 10 years, CORIAL contributes to the innovation
in Failure Analysis for the semiconductor industry. We deliver an
equipment and process portfolio giving rise to high performance,
high reliability and low cost of ownership.
CORIAL equipment for sample preparation before electrical
and physical Failure Analysis is designed and manufactured
in France. Sales and support is provided worldwide through a
network of 11 local offices and partners.
Our technical team constantly improves tools and processes
to deliver increased performances to our customers in Failure
Analysis.
Check out our latest updates for FA in this issue of the
newsletter:
Market Insights by CORIAL
plasma technology and applications
About CORIAL
Process
Performance
Equipment
Reliability
Substrate
Flexibility
Enabling
Failure Analysis
CORIAL manufactures plasma etch and deposition
equipment which meets the quality and performance
requirements of our customers from R&D through
mass production.
Clean Room & Facility
• 1,800 Sq.ft. facility,
• 500 Sq.ft. clean room for system ssembly and
testing,
• Application lab for process development and
optimization,
• Spare parts warehouse.
Applications
CORIAL’s portfolio include RIE, ICP, ICP-CVD,
and PECVD tools with constant or pulsed process
parameters, to address a wide range on end-market
• Failure analysis
• MEMS/NEMS
• LEDs/OLEDs
• Advanced
Packaging
• Wireless
devices
• Photomask
• Power
electronics
• Nanotechnology
• Role of dry etch in Failure Analysis
• Plasma etch process performance
• Examples of low damage plasma processes
• Applications
• Corial 200I Specifications
• Support for process development and optimization

2. Role of Dry Etch in Failure Analysis of Electronic Devices
The quest for more powerful, smaller
and faster integrated circuits raises the
need for multiple layers of metallization
during wafer processing. The preparation
of electronic devices for failure analysis,
yield enhancement or competitive analysis
is thus becoming more challenging as it requires to remove
these layers of materials to access the failure site. Engineers’
expertise combined with tools enabling precise process control
is the key to success in sample preparation.
A well prepared sample makes it easier the investigation to
reveal the defect within a device and identify its root cause.
Depending on the type of device, sample preparation for
inspection may require different techniques such as package
opening, deprocessing, cross-section, or backside silicon
access. With the exception of package opening, these
techniques can be implemented with Focused Ion Beam (FIB)
and Plasma Etcher.
Dry etch is the reference technology for sample deprocessing
and backside silicon access. The basic principle of a dry etch
process is the transformation of a solid material to gaseous
byproduct through chemical reactions involving plasma activated
species, and assisted (Reactive Ion Etching) or not (Inductive
Coupling Plasma) by ion bombardment. These reactive species
(atoms, radicals, and ions) are produced in plasma by collisions
between electrons and molecules.
Deprocessing step during sample preparation is challenging .
In many cases device must retain electrical integrity for further
test and its surface must remain clean.
Some of the desirable advantages of dry etch for Failure
Analysis include full retention of electrical integrity, tight
adjustment of the etch profile (isotropic or anisotropic), control
of etch rate, high selectivity to underlayer material, and low
plasma damage.
To address customers’
requirements, the CORIAL ICP
source is capable for low plasma
potential (< 15 Volts) and tight
control of very low bias voltage,
giving rise to minimum damage of
metal lines.
Dry etch uniquely supports a
variety of chemistries to enable
individual or multi-layer removal,
while maintaining planar surface. It
means that only one level of material becomes visible across
the entire sample surface.
At CORIAL, we have developed and successfully transferred
to our customers ICP planarizing processes for various
materials.
Market Insights by CORIAL
Process Underlayer Chemistry Etch rate
(µm/min)
Selectivity Uniformity
Polyimide Si3
N4
O2
> 1 > 50 ± 5%
Si3
N4
SiO2
CHF3
+ O2
> 0.3 > 1.5 ± 3%
SiO2
SiO2
> 0.15 - ± 3%
SiO2
/TiN TiN CHF3
+ C2
H4
0.05 > 10 ± 3%
Aluminum* SiO2
CL2
+ C2
H4
1 > 10 ± 5%
FA Process Performance on 200mm Wafers
By Andrei Uvarov - R&D Manager
* Corial 200I with load lock option

3. Planar deprocessing of 200 mm wafer
Dry Etch Processes for Sample Preparation
Enabling Failure Analysis
Adjustment of etch profile
Isotropic etching without RF biasing Anisotropic etching with low RF biasing
Dry etchers have evolved to fit the
challenges offered by today’s electronic
devices.
CORIAL provides a wide library of processes for failure
analysis with single or multiple delayering of die, packaged
die, or wafer.
By Julie Poulet
Application Engineer
«With CORIAL etcher, the failure analysis engineer can switch
between ICP or RIE process modes to adjust the etch profile of
the sample».
Polyimide removal with Si3
N4
underlayer
Control of sample temperature
Exposure of 9 metal layers - Aluminum
technology - without metal lift
Exposure of 7 metal layers - Cu
technology - without metal lift
« CORIAL ICP etcher features helium backside cooling to
control temperature of wafers, dies and packaged dies. »
Aluminum etched to expose SiO2
- after mechanical polishing -
Aluminum etching with SiO2
underlayer
- before mechanical polishing -
APPLICATIONS
• Isotropic polyimide
removal
• Isotropic silicon nitride
removal
• Anisotropic silicon oxide
removal
• Metal removal (Al)
• ILD removal
• Low K / ultra low K
removal
• Backside Bulk Si thinning
Deprocessing of ultra low-k dielectric
28 nm technology
Deprocessing of ultra low-k dielectric
20 nm technology
Die deprocessing in advanced technological processes
Polyimide, Si3
N4
and SiO2
removal to
expose Metal 2
« All materials are etched at the same etch rate to get a
planar surface. The application of layer-by-layer process
enables deprocessing down to the bottom layers.»

4. Contacts
www.corial.net
Market Insights by CORIAL
Corial 200I Specifications
Process Mode ICP - RIE
Reactor Concept High density plasma source
Reactor Sources RF Generator at 13.56MHz
ICP Generator at 2MHz
Automatic Matching Network
Process
Gas Lines
Up to 8 gas lines
Co2
, CHF3
, SF6
, C2
H4
, Ar
Vacuum System Very short pumping cycles (< 3 min)
High conductance pumping system with:
- Dry pump dedicated to plasma processes (28m3
/h)
- Magnetically levitated TMP (500l/s)
System Loading Shuttle loading - direct into carrier
Load-lock available as an option for Aluminum
etching
Footprint Length = 1080mm
Width = 750mm
Height = 1434mm
At CORIAL, we aim not to be only a provider of etch and
deposition systems but a trusted partner focused on the
success of all your projects. CORIAL provides a wide range
of support packages, which are tailored to the specific needs
and expectations of our customers, from the ealiest stage of
customer relationship and all along the equipment lifetime.
For example, for each tool from our factory, we provide free
of charge system installation, a step-by-step acceptance
procedure and a start up of the equipment on customer
site.
CORIAL application support is provided by a team of
highly qualified application engineers. Application support is
unlimited and free of charge for all our customers. To support
you in the development of deposition & etch processes that
run accurately, repeatably and reliably, our applications lab is
equipped with a wide range of measurements tools (including
scanning electron microscope, atomic force microscope,
profilometer, spectroscopic ellipsometer).
CORIAL support team is our customers main contact for
answering all questions related to equipment operation,
maintenance, and troubleshooting. Hardware and software
support is provided free of charge for 2 years starting from
tool acceptance. Remote system access upon customer’s
agreement allows systems check and operation and even
upload of processes through our Virtual Private Network
(VPN). Remote access guarantees short response times
and efficient service.
CORIAL also provides flexible training programs on
equipment or processes, tailored to your needs, with specific
content, scope and duration.
CORIAL Headquarter
266 Chemin des Franques
38190 BERNIN FRANCE
T: +33 (0)4 76 01 10 10
F: +33 (0)4 76 24 53 81
corial@corial.net
CORIAL Support Policy
By Bruno Simon
R&D Engineer
Our latest generation of manually loaded 200 mm system, the
Corial 200I, is a fast and low damage ICP system for packaged
die, single die, and wafers up to 200mm.
Contact for Sales & Support
CORIAL
Florence Olivier
T: +33 (0)6 89 54 61 75
f-olivier@corial.net