Nanoscale X-ray Imaging Capabilities at NSLS-II and Their Application to Microelectronics Research

National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) has world-leading nanoscale X-ray imaging capabilities. The Full-field X-ray Imaging (FXI) beamline offers nanoscale tomography at ~30 nm resolution with an unprecedented imaging throughput down to ~10 seconds. The Hard X-ray Nanoprobe (HXN) beamline delivers multimodal X-ray imaging based on scanning X-ray microscopy with the smallest beam size of ~10 nm. In addition, additional imaging beamlines are either under construction or being designed to further strengthen the imaging portfolio at NSLS-II. The nanoscale imaging capabilities at NSLS-II have been effectively used for visualizing internal defects of integrated circuits and validating the microelectronics device concepts. For example, a 10 nm X-ray beam has be en used for studying the strain distribution in the nanosheets within GAA-FET (Gate-All-Around Field-Effect Transistor), and the obtained experimental data have been used for generating a strain distribution model for nanosheets, and both full-field and scanning imaging capabilities have been successfully used for revealing the 3D structure of integrated circuits and novel devices. The presentation will provide a broad overview of the current imaging capabilities and plans for enhancing the microelectronics metrology capability at NSLS-II.