{"id":890998,"date":"2026-03-11T06:27:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T06:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.electronicsweekly.com\/?p=890998"},"modified":"2026-03-11T11:53:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T11:53:46","slug":"atomic-scale-defects-found-in-ics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.electronicsweekly.com\/news\/business\/atomic-scale-defects-found-in-ics-2026-03\/","title":{"rendered":"Atomic-scale defects discoverable in ICs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Cornell University researchers have used high-resolution 3D imaging to detect atomic-scale defects in ICs.<\/p><div class=\"elect-content\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"elect-424504145\"><div id=\"x02\">\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"> if ($(window).width() <= 768) { googletag.display('x02'); } <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<p>The imaging method was the result of a collaboration with TSMC and ASM and the research was funded by TSMC.<\/p><div class=\"elect-test\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"elect-798341047\"><div id=\"DFP-EW-InRead1\">\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"> if ($(window).width() > 768) { googletag.display('DFP-EW-InRead1'); } <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<BR>\r\n<\/div>\n<p><a rel=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/news.cornell.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/full_size\/public\/2026-03\/semiconductor_defects.jpg?itok=XRs2Ggz0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"img-responsive brand-logo alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/news.cornell.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/breakout\/public\/2026-03\/semiconductor_defects.jpg?itok=JfiuHYNx\" alt=\"This image shows the silicon, silicon dioxide and hafnium oxide layers inside a transistor channel.\" width=\"670\" height=\"377\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Tiny defects have been a long-standing challenge for the semiconductor industry. The game-changer is electron ptychography, a computational imaging method in which an electron microscope pixel array detector (EMPAD) is used to collect detailed scattering patterns of electrons after they pass through the transistors.<\/p><div class=\"elect-post-content-2\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"elect-578384352\"><div id=\"DFP-EW-InRead1-Mobile\">\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\"> if ($(window).width() <= 768) { googletag.display('DFP-EW-InRead1-Mobile'); } <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n<p>By comparing how these patterns change from one scan position to the other, scientists can reconstruct an image with extraordinary clarity. The detector is so precise, it has enabled the highest resolution images in the world.<\/p>\n<p>Once the data was collected and reconstructed, and the position of atoms had been tracked, the researchers were able to detect interface roughness in the channels.<\/p>\n<p>The roughness arose from defects that formed during the optimized growth process. Sample structures, grown at nanoelectronics hub Imec, were the ideal way to test the imaging method.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFabrication of modern devices takes hundreds, if not thousands, of steps of chemical etching and deposition and heating, and then every single step does something to your structure,\u201d says \u00a0researcher Shake Karapetyan, \u201cbefore, you used to look at projective images to try to figure out what was really going on. Now you have a direct probe to actually see after every single step.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"image\" href=\"https:\/\/www.electronicsweekly.com\/news\/research-news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">See all our Research content<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cornell University researchers have used high-resolution 3D imaging to detect atomic-scale defects in ICs. The imaging method was the result of a collaboration with TSMC and ASM and the research &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":891005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16039,12658],"tags":[13144,13835],"class_list":["post-890998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-research-news","tag-imec","tag-tsmc"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.7 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Atomic-scale defects discoverable in ICs | Electronics Weekly<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cornell University researchers have used high-resolution 3D imaging to detect atomic-scale defects in ICs. 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