A measurement system for the photoelectric and electrical characterization of modern semiconductor devices

In this article a universal system for photoelectric measurements (USPM) is described, with several subsystems allowing comprehensive characterization of various semiconductor devices, primarily MOS (metal-oxide-semiconductor) structures. MOS structures are fundamental components of all modern integrated circuits and the key parameters of these structures can be determined by several electrical and photoelectric techniques. In particular, photoelectric investigations are very important and useful in the characterization of micro- and nanoelectronic semiconductor devices since they offer very accurate and reproducible measurements of important electric parameters, e.g. barrier heights on interfaces of multilayered structures. In the case of integrated circuits with structures of nm aerial dimensions, photoelectric measurements have to be made on test structures with larger aerial dimensions, accompanying the integrated circuits, since the minimum diameter of the light beam used is in the range of micrometers. The USPM system has been designed and built in our laboratory and allows very precise and sensitive measurements to be taken.