Electron Beam-induced Deposition - Ion Beam-induced Deposition

Ion Beam-induced Deposition

Ion beam-induced deposition (IBID) is very similar to EBID with the major difference that focused ion beam, usually 30 keV Ga+, is used instead of the electron beam. In both techniques, it is not the primary beam, but secondary electrons which cause the deposition. IBID has the following disadvantages as compared to EBID:

• Angular spread of secondary electrons is larger in IBID thus resulting in lower spatial resolution.
• Ga+ ions introduce additional contamination and radiation damage to the deposited structure, which is important for electronic applications.
• Deposition occurs in a focused ion beam (FIB) setup, which strongly limits characterization of the deposit during or right after the deposition. Only SEM-like imaging using secondary electrons is possible, and even that imaging is restricted to short observations due to sample damaging by the Ga+ beam. The use of a dual beam instrument, that combines a FIB and an SEM in one, circumvents this limitation.

The advantages of IBID are:

• Much higher deposition rate
• Higher purities.