Ion Electron Emission Microscopi for SEE studies

At the INFN Legnaro Laboratories (Padova, Italy) a new instrument has been recently installed in the SIRAD beam line, a facility devoted to the study of radiation induced damage in microelectronic devices, systems and materials. This new instrument, based on an idea first proposed at SANDIA, consists of an electronic microscope system capable of recognizing with micrometric resolution the impact points of single ions impinging on the target. Linking the ion impact positions as recorded by the microscope with the single event effects (SEE) induced in a microelectronic component under test (DUT) allows one to perform a micro-map of the sensitive areas of the device under test. Compared with traditional microbeams, the standard tool to perform SEE micro mapping, an IEEM system is relatively simple and it may be installed on preexisting beam-lines with only minor requirements, an important feature that allows IEEM applications at high-energy ion accelerators that allow a wide selection of ion species (cyclotrons, tandems).