SINGLE CONTACT OPTICAL BEAM INDUCED CURRENTS (SCOBIC)

Abstract

The Single Contact Optical Beam Induced Currents (SCOBIC) technique is developed to overcome the limitation of the conventional beam induced current techniques. Single contact effects can be observed when only one terminal of the space charge region in a semiconductor device is connected to the preamplifier. In this configuration, a parasitic capacitance exists between the unconnected terminal and ground, thereby completing the transient current path. Experiments performed demonstrate the validity of the SCOBIC results in comparison with equivalent OBIC results. By connecting the substrate of an integrated circuit to the current amplifier, many junctions can be imaged. In contrast, in the OBIC technique, only the junction directly connected to the current amplifier is imaged.