Strain measurement of 3D structured nanodevices by EBSD

We present a new methodology to accurately measure strain magnitudes from 3D nanodevices using Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD). Because the dimensions of features on these devices are smaller than the interaction volume for backscattered electrons, EBSD patterns from 3D nanodevices will frequently be the superposition of patterns from multiple material regions simultaneously. The effect of this superposition on EBSD strain measurement is demonstrated, along with an approach to separate EBSD patterns from these devices via subtraction. The subtraction procedure is applied to 33 nm wide SiGe lines, and it provides accurate strain magnitudes where the traditional EBSD strain analysis method undervalues the strain magnitude by an order of magnitude. The approach provides a strain measurement technique for nanoscale 3D structures that is high spatial resolution, nondestructive, and accurate.