Nanoparticles and plasmon resonance based probe for failure analysis of ULSI microchips and electrical characterizations of metallic interconnects

[Display omitted] ► Novel contact-free probe consisting of tapered optical fiber and metallic nanorods. ► Probe enables to reproduce the waveforms of currents within ULSI microchips. ► Current waveform is reproduced by examining the scattering cross section spectrum. ► Current waveform is also reproduced by examining the scattered light’s intensity. ► Ferromagnetic nanorod varies its position due the current induced magnetic field. In this paper, we present the concept of novel contact-free probe enabling to obtain high accuracy electrical characterizations of interconnection lines within working ULSI microchips. The probe consists of a tapered optical fiber and a certain structure of metallic nanorods (ferromagnetic and nonmagnetic) located within a hole drilled inside the fiber. Using the proposed probe, the waveform of electrical currents is reproduced from the change in the scattering cross section of two interacted metallic nanorods.