High-Resolution Three-Dimensional Mapping of Semiconductor Dopant Potentials

Semiconductor device structures are becoming increasingly three-dimensional at the nanometer scale. A key issue that must be addressed to enable future device development is the three-dimensional mapping of dopant distributions, ideally under “working conditions”. Here we demonstrate how a combination of electron holography and electron tomography can be used to determine quantitatively the three-dimensional electrostatic potential in an electrically biased semiconductor device with nanometer spatial resolution.