Natural van der Waals canalization lens for non-destructive nanoelectronic circuit imaging and inspection

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Ou, Qingdong, Xue, Shuwen, Ma, Weiliang, Yang, Jiong, Si, Guangyuan, Liu, Lu, Zhong, Gang, Liu, Jingying, Xie, Zongyuan, Xiao, Ying, Kalantar-Zadeh, Kourosh, Qi, Xiang, Li, Peining, Dai, Zhigao, Chen, Huanyang, Bao, Qiaoliang
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Ou, Qingdong
Xue, Shuwen
Ma, Weiliang
Yang, Jiong
Si, Guangyuan
Liu, Lu
Zhong, Gang
Liu, Jingying
Xie, Zongyuan
Xiao, Ying
Kalantar-Zadeh, Kourosh
Qi, Xiang
Li, Peining
Dai, Zhigao
Chen, Huanyang
Bao, Qiaoliang
author_facet Ou, Qingdong
Xue, Shuwen
Ma, Weiliang
Yang, Jiong
Si, Guangyuan
Liu, Lu
Zhong, Gang
Liu, Jingying
Xie, Zongyuan
Xiao, Ying
Kalantar-Zadeh, Kourosh
Qi, Xiang
Li, Peining
Dai, Zhigao
Chen, Huanyang
Bao, Qiaoliang
contents Optical inspection has long served as a cornerstone non-destructive method in semiconductor wafer manufacturing, particularly for surface and defect analysis. However, conventional techniques such as bright-field and dark-field scattering optics face significant limitations, including insufficient resolution and the inability to penetrate and detect buried structures. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), while offering higher resolution and precise surface characterization, is constrained by slow speed, limited to surface-level imaging, and incapable of resolving subsurface features. Here, we propose an approach that integrates the strengths of dark-field scattering optics and AFM by leveraging a van der Waals (vdW) canalization lens based on natural biaxial α-MoO3 crystals. This method enables ultrahigh-resolution subwavelength imaging with the ability to visualize both surface and buried structures, achieving a spatial resolution of 15 nm and grating pitch detection down to 100 nm. The underlying mechanism relies on the unique anisotropic properties of α-MoO3, where its atomic-scale unit cells and biaxial symmetry facilitate the diffraction-free propagation of both evanescent and propagating waves via a flat-band canalization regime. Unlike metamaterial-based superlenses and hyperlenses, which suffer from high plasmonic losses, fabrication imperfections, and uniaxial constraints, α-MoO3 provides robust and aberration-free imaging in multiple directions. We successfully applied this approach to high-resolution inspection of buried nanoscale electronic circuits, offering unprecedented capabilities essential for next-generation semiconductor manufacturing.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_09308
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Natural van der Waals canalization lens for non-destructive nanoelectronic circuit imaging and inspection
Ou, Qingdong
Xue, Shuwen
Ma, Weiliang
Yang, Jiong
Si, Guangyuan
Liu, Lu
Zhong, Gang
Liu, Jingying
Xie, Zongyuan
Xiao, Ying
Kalantar-Zadeh, Kourosh
Qi, Xiang
Li, Peining
Dai, Zhigao
Chen, Huanyang
Bao, Qiaoliang
Optics
Optical inspection has long served as a cornerstone non-destructive method in semiconductor wafer manufacturing, particularly for surface and defect analysis. However, conventional techniques such as bright-field and dark-field scattering optics face significant limitations, including insufficient resolution and the inability to penetrate and detect buried structures. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), while offering higher resolution and precise surface characterization, is constrained by slow speed, limited to surface-level imaging, and incapable of resolving subsurface features. Here, we propose an approach that integrates the strengths of dark-field scattering optics and AFM by leveraging a van der Waals (vdW) canalization lens based on natural biaxial α-MoO3 crystals. This method enables ultrahigh-resolution subwavelength imaging with the ability to visualize both surface and buried structures, achieving a spatial resolution of 15 nm and grating pitch detection down to 100 nm. The underlying mechanism relies on the unique anisotropic properties of α-MoO3, where its atomic-scale unit cells and biaxial symmetry facilitate the diffraction-free propagation of both evanescent and propagating waves via a flat-band canalization regime. Unlike metamaterial-based superlenses and hyperlenses, which suffer from high plasmonic losses, fabrication imperfections, and uniaxial constraints, α-MoO3 provides robust and aberration-free imaging in multiple directions. We successfully applied this approach to high-resolution inspection of buried nanoscale electronic circuits, offering unprecedented capabilities essential for next-generation semiconductor manufacturing.
title Natural van der Waals canalization lens for non-destructive nanoelectronic circuit imaging and inspection
topic Optics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.09308