edfas.org ELECTRONIC DEVICE FAILURE ANALYSIS | VOLUME 28 NO. 3 4 EDFAAO (2026) 3:4-10 1537-0755/$19.00 ©ASM International® EXPANDING THE APPLICATION RANGE OF ELECTRON BEAM INDUCED RESISTANCE CHANGE FROM LOW- TO HIGH-OHMIC FAILURES Oscar Recalde-Benitez, Andreas Rummel, and Stephan Kleindiek Kleindiek Nanotechnik, Reutlingen, Germany oscar.recalde@kleindiek.com INTRODUCTION Electron-beam-based fault isolation has become an indispensable component of semiconductor failure analysis workflows, enabling precise localization and characterization of defects at the micro- and nanoscale. In particular, techniques based on electron beam induced current (EBIC), such as resistive contrast imaging (RCI), electron beam absorbed current (EBAC), electron beam induced voltage (EBIV), and electron beam induced resistance change (EBIRCH), offer the spatial resolution necessary to identify shorts, opens, and leakage defects in integrated circuits. While EBAC and RCI have been widely adopted for backend and frontend fault isolation, both techniques primarily visualize the electrically connected path.[1-2] The beam-induced signal reflects current flow or resistance modulation along the entire path, and the presence of a defect is typically inferred from a disruption, attenuation, or redistribution of this path rather than from a direct localization of the defect itself. In EBAC, the absorbed beam current is detected along a conduction path, whereas RCI monitors beam-induced resistance variations that depend on the current flowing through the same path, making it particularly suitable for high-ohmic structures. Similarly, EBIV measures beam-induced voltage variations caused by the electron beam flowing through the connected resistive structure and is well suited for low-ohmic paths. In all cases, the contrast is path-dominated and can be strongly influenced by parasitic junctions, leakage paths, and nonlinear conduction mechanisms, which may obscure the precise location of the defective site.[3] In contrast, EBIRCH is an emerging technique that enables direct micro and nanoscale localization from low- to high-ohmic failures by detecting resistance modulations under electron-beam irradiation rather than probing absorbed or emitted current. EBIRCH directly measures resistance changes induced by the interaction between a focused electron beam and a locally biased region.[4] The EBIRCH signal typically peaks at the location of the resistive anomaly itself, enabling precise spatial correlation between the electrical failure and the physical defect site, particularly in backend structures such as metal lines, contacts, and vias. Additionally, a recent study demonstrated that high- voltage electron beam irradiation can be exploited to suppress gate leakage and enhance EBIRCH defect localization via electron-beam-induced charge trapping in gate oxides.[5] This work highlights that electron-beam interactions can modify the local electrical behavior of nanoscale devices, enabling improved contrast and defect identification. Building on these developments, the present study explores the full dynamic range of EBIRCH and demonstrates its applicability across a wide impedance range. EBIRCH can be applied from low- and intermediate-ohmic shorts (hundreds of Ohms to tens of kOhms), such as in metal lines and/or transistor gate–source failures, up to high-ohmic leakages (>100 MΩ) e.g., in via chains. The technique is robust against interference from other EBIC modes and is compatible with electron beam nanoprobing systems, enabling precise failure localization in structures that are challenging for techniques such as optical beam induced resistive change (OBIRCH) or photo emission microscopy (PEM) due to the high spatial resolution required. By systematically analyzing low- to high-ohmic regimes, this work provides a comprehensive overview of EBIRCH as a complementary technique to other EBIC modes and presents qualitative and quantitative results that guide the selection of electron beam and external bias parameters for nanoscale fault isolation across a broad range of impedances in diverse electronic interconnects and device structures.
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