Search
On-demand Webinar
Duration: 1 hour, 17 minutes
4D scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D STEM) is redefining how scientists and engineers explore strain in semiconductor materials. By capturing a full diffraction pattern at every probe position, 4D STEM enables quantitative, nanoscale strain mapping with remarkable precision, driving deeper understanding of lattice distortions, defects, and performance-critical features in modern devices.
Join us and our guest experts from leading universities and research institutes as we explore the latest 4D STEM techniques for strain analysis in semiconductor applications. This interactive session will showcase real-world case studies, advanced data processing workflows, and innovative detector technology that are transforming the future of semiconductor characterization.
Whether you’re working in semiconductor, materials science, process engineering, or the electron microscopy domain, this webinar will provide practical insights and expert perspectives to help you push the limits of nanoscale strain analysis.
Agenda:
Understanding Strain in Semiconductor Devices via Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) - Dr. Paola Favia
Strain plays a crucial role in enhancing the performance of modern semiconductor devices, particularly as device dimensions shrink and new materials are introduced. In this webinar, we will explore how transmission electron microscopy (TEM) enables strain measurement at the nanoscale. We will introduce key TEM-based techniques such as nano-beam electron diffraction (NBED), Bessel beam electron diffraction (BBED) and geometric phase analysis (GPA), and demonstrate their application in mapping strain in conventional and advanced semiconductor structures. Attendees will gain insights into strain evolution at different steps in the semiconductor fabrication process, how it can be characterized at the nanoscale and why TEM is an essential tool for process development in the semiconductor industry.
Implementation of Precession-Like 4D STEM via Software-Controlled Tilt Series – Dr. ChuPing Yu
4D STEM enables the acquisition of richer information from samples compared to traditional STEM methods. For example, the periodicity and orientation of the lattice, as well as the distribution of these qualities, can be determined by performing a 4D STEM experiment. The quality of the data can, in some cases, be improved by integrating the signal from multiple illumination angles, which creates the renowned precession STEM. However, this method requires additional hardware and has drawbacks, such as poorer resolution due to pivot point error. Here, we showcase how to perform tilt series on a Thermo Scientific TEM with only additional software support. This technique allows you to record data from discrete angles separately, so that the effects of pivot point error or drift can be mitigated through post-processing. Another benefit of this method is that tilting can be performed with a large aberration-free incident angle, thanks to the probe corrector, providing superior resolution compared to traditional precession STEM.
About the speaker
Dr. Paola Favia, Principal Researcher, IMEC
Paola Favia is a principal researcher in the Structural Analysis team within the Material Characterization and Analysis department at IMEC, Belgium.
Her expertise lies in advanced electron microscopy applied to semiconductor materials and devices. A significant part of her work focuses on 4D STEM techniques, including nano beam electron diffraction and Bessel beam electron diffraction, for strain mapping in current and next-generation transistor architectures such as FinFETs and CFETs.
Paola earned her PhD in solid state physics at the Ecole Polythecnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. After working as a researcher at Gatan in California, USA, she joined IMEC in 2006.
Dr. Chu-Ping Yu
Chu-Ping Yu is a Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) Application Scientist at Thermo Fisher Scientific, based in Eindhoven, Netherlands. With a strong background in microscopy, Chu-Ping specializes in developing and demonstrating advanced TEM applications, including 4D STEM techniques, system automation, etc.
Before joining Thermo Fisher Scientific, Chu-Ping completed a PhD in physics at the University of Antwerp, where his research focused on 4D scanning transmission electron microscopy data processing. His work contributed to innovations in electron microscopy data reconstruction and real-time visualization of the complex data.