Nanophotonic identification of defects buried in three-dimensional NAND flash memory devices

Abstract

Advances in nanophotonics and plasmonics have led to the creation of a variety of innovative optical components and devices. However, the development of powerful practical applications has so far been limited. Here we show that subsurface defects in three-dimensional NAND flash memory devices can be identified by exploiting the inherent hyperbolic metamaterial structure of the devices and associated nanophotonic interactions, such as the epsilon-near-zero effect and hyperbolic Bloch mode formation. By incorporating a hyperspectral imaging scheme into an industrial optical inspection tool, we experimentally demonstrate that a diffraction-assisted volume-plasmonic resonance provides a robust mechanism for identifying subsurface defects at a depth that is around ten times deeper than the conventional optical skin depth limit. Further spectral analysis in the longer-wavelength infrared region shows clear hyperbolic guided-mode-resonance signatures that would potentially allow defect identification over the entire device depth and on the scale of multiple micrometres. Deep subsurface defects in three-dimensional NAND flash memory devices can be identified by exploiting the inherent hyperbolic metamaterial structure of the devices.

Cite this article

Yoon, J.W., Ma, SM., Kim, G.P. et al. Nanophotonic identification of defects buried in three-dimensional NAND flash memory devices. Nat Electron 1, 60–67 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41928-017-0007-7

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