Semiconductor characterization by scanning ion beam induced charge (IBIC) microscopy

The acronym IBIC (ion beam induced charge) was coined in the early 1990s to indicate a scanning microscopy technique which uses MeV ion beams as probes to image the basic electronic properties of semiconductor materials and devices. Since then, IBIC has become a widespread analytical technique to characterize materials for electronics or for radiation detection, as testified by more than 200 papers published so far in peer-reviewed journals. Its success stems from the valuable information IBIC can provide on charge transport phenomena occurring in finished devices, not easily obtainable by other analytical techniques. However, IBIC analysis requires a robust theoretical background to correctly interpret experimental data. In order to illustrate the importance of using a rigorous mathematical formalism, we present in this paper a benchmark IBIC experiment aimed to test the validity of the interpretative model based on the Gunn's theorem and to provide an example of the analytical capability of IBIC to characterize semiconductor devices.