CAMECA manufactures scientific instruments capable to measure and image the elemental composition (ex: Copper, Oxygen, Hydrogen, Silicon…) and/or isotopical composition (ex: 235U/ 238U in Uranium) of micro- or nano-volumes at the surface of any solid objects.
Instead of using visible light (photons) as in classical optical microscopes, the CAMECA instruments use electrons, ions or X-rays.
The fields of application are very diverse, including Semiconductors, Earth & Planetary Sciences, Materials and Nuclear Sciences, Environment, Biology and Pharmacology. The working environment ranges from pure research to automated in-line process control.
The analysis can be extremely sensitive: atomic concentration measured down to the ppb level (one detected atom among one billion surrounding atoms). The analysis is also very localized: from a few cubic micrometers down to the volume of single atoms, depending on the selected technique !
The analysis outputs are 1D: element or isotope concentrations in a given volume, 2D: isotope or elemental lateral distribution (images) and depth profiles, or 3D: volumic images.


Semiconductors: in-line control of ultra-thin oxynitride layer composition uniformity. Full 300mm wafer mapping of nitrogen concentration. Quantitative X-ray image obtained on the Shallow Probe model LEXFAB-300.


Semiconductors: in-line control of boron dopant level in EPI-SiGe layer. Full 300mm wafer line-scan. Silicon, germanium and  boron dopant are measured in parallel.   Quantitative line-scan obtained on the LEXFAB-300.

 



EPMA C map of steel gear tooth

Material Sciences: false color image showing the  distribution of the Carbon concentration of a part of a carburized steel gear tooth. Quantitative X-ray image obtained on the Electron Probe MicroAnalyzer (EPMA) model SX100. Red shows higher Carbon concentration, green lower one.




Zn depth profile in InP  
Semiconductors: quantitative measurement of the depth distribution of Zinc (Zn) dopant and gallium (Ga) inside a Indium Phosphide (InP) epitaxial layer. Note the excellent sensitivity: Zn is detected at 10ppb (part per billion) concentration level. Analysis area: 50µm x 50µm.
Quantitative trace element depth profile recorded on the Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer (SIMS) model IMS Wf.


Al-Ag interdiffusion TAP 3D maps          Al-Ag interdiffusion TAP 3D maps
Materials Sciences. Interaction of two aluminium and silver sputtered layers: before(left) and after (right) thermal annealing (100°C during 15min.).
High resolution, 3D visualization of Aluminum and silver atoms positions. Each individual atom is represented by a dot (Al = yellow, Ag = red). Quantitative 3D image recorded with the Tomographic Atom Probe model OTAP. Courtesy of Schleiwies & Schmitz, Göttingen univ.).
The size of the base square is only 10nm x 10nm.


presolar grain in IDP


Geology, Cosmochemistry: interstellar silicates revealed in cluster Interstellar Dust Particles (IDP). The 0.1-0.2µm size presolar grain is revealed by a difference of its oxygen isotope ratio. The isotopic composition of such grains helps the modelling of star formation conditions.
Data by courtesy of Scott Messenger, Washington Univ., St.Louis, USA.
Isotopic measurement recorded on the SIMS ion microprobe model NanoSIMS 50.


Below are listed some of the main fields of application.
   
Semiconductors
Front end process control: implanted dopant dose, junction depth & depth distribution, diffusion & annealing, trace quantification, Ultra thin films (metallic, cap and barrier), implants, diffusion, PLAD, Oxinitrides, high-k gates, B/C/Ge in EPI-SiGe. Full wafer composition & dose mapping.
Back-end:cap layers, interconnect structures (Cu, CoWP), low-k.
Failure analysis: Trace element, contamination,  diffusion profile
Telecom, III-V compounds (GaAs, GaN, InP), SiGe
IR detectors (night vision), II-VI compounds (HgCdTe)
Light elements: H, C, O, N trace analysis
High resolution trace and dopant 2D Imaging
Geology, Earth Sciences
Geochemistry: Stable isotopes (ex: H, C, N, O, S...)
Trace Element distribution (ex: light and Rare Earth Element) & quantification       
Sub-micron element and isotope analysis
Geochronology (ex: U, Th, Pb)
Mineralogy, Petrography, Major element quantification
Astrophysics, planetary sciences
Interstellar Dust & Grain Isotopic and elemental analysis
Meteorite major & trace element and isotope analysis
Materials Sciences
Ceramics, glasses: coatings, multi-layers, diffusion studies
Metallurgy: coatings, segregation, corrosion, nuclear aging, contamination, precipitates, light elements (C, O, N, Na..)
Composite materials, small inclusions, interfaces
Environment, Nuclear industry: safety controls, traces of contamination, radioactive particles, wastes, recycling.
Catalysis (noble metal quantification and localization)
Life sciences
Pharmacology (subcellular drug localization), Cosmetics and Dermatology (ex: visualisation of chemicals and their interraction inside hair)
Plant and Animal Cell biology, Protein turnover, stable isotope imaging
Subcellular bio-chemistry