Laser ablation plasmas for diagnostics of structured electronic and optical materials during or after laser processing

摘要

Laser induced plasma can be used for rapid optical diagnostics of electronic, optical, electro-optical, electromechanical and other structures. Plasma monitoring and diagnostics can be realized during laser processing in real time by means of measuring optical emission that originates from the pulsed laser-material interaction. In post-process applications, e.g., quality assurance and quality control, surface raster scanning and depth profiling can be realized with high spatial resolution (-10 nm in depth and ～3 nm lateral). Commercial instruments based on laser induced breakdown spectrometry (LIBS) are available for these purposes. Since only a laser beam comes in direct contact with the sample, such diagnostics are sterile and non-disruptive, and can be performed at a distance, e.g. through a window. The technique enables rapid micro-localized chemical analysis without a need for sample preparation, dissolution or evacuation of samples, thus it is particularly beneficial in fabrication of thin films and structures, such as electronic, photovoltaic and electro-optical devices or circuits of devices. Spectrum acquisition from a single laser shot provides detection limits for metal traces of ～10 μg/g, which can be further improved by accumulating signal from multiple laser pulses. LIBS detection limit for Br in polyethylene is 90 ug/g using 50-shot spectral accumulation (halogen detection is a requirement for semiconductor package materials). Three to four orders of magnitude lower detection limits can be obtained with a femtosecond laser ablation - inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (LA-ICP-MS), which is also provided on commercial basis. Laser repetition rate is currently up to 20 Hz in LIBS instruments and up to 100 kHz in LA-ICP-MS.