東レリサーチセンター Company Overview

【Evaluation of the Mechanical Properties of Bulk Materials (Material Testing)】 The evaluation of the mechanical properties of materials aids in obtaining physical property values for design and simulation, as well as in elucidating material degradation phenomena. However, if accurate physical property values cannot be obtained, erroneous results may be derived. This course will explain the measurement methods for the mechanical properties of solid materials (static material tests such as tensile, bending, and compression) and introduce various measurement examples, along with the digital image correlation method that has been utilized in the field of mechanical property evaluation in recent years. 【Evaluation of Mechanical Properties in Microscopic Regions (Nanoindentation)】 The nanoindentation method is a technique that improves the load and displacement resolution of conventional hardness tests and is widely used for evaluating the mechanical properties of thin films and specific fine areas. In recent years, advancements in technology have enabled nanoindentation measurements that utilize environmental control functions and AFM capabilities. This course will introduce the basic principles and measurement modes, along with examples of each measurement.

To create high-performance semiconductor devices, it is necessary to understand and control the electrical properties and physical characteristics of each material used in device fabrication. This course is structured in two parts: the first half introduces examples of applying mercury probe techniques to evaluate the basic electrical characteristics of semiconductor devices, such as capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics, and demonstrates the relationship between the electrical properties of semiconductor devices and film quality in combination with various physical analyses. The second half presents Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy (DLTS), a method for electrically detecting defects that affect the characteristics of semiconductor devices, highlighting its usefulness based on examples of evaluating defects at semiconductor and insulating film/semiconductor interfaces.

In recent years, with the increasing demand for material evaluation at the nanoscale, the importance of scanning probe microscopy (SPM), which can directly visualize the fine structures and physical properties of surfaces and interfaces, has grown. SPM is a microscopy technique represented by atomic force microscopy (AFM), which measures height and physical properties by utilizing the interaction between a probe and the sample surface. This course will systematically organize the basic structure and measurement principles of SPM based on commercially available AFM equipment, as well as explain the key technologies of the device, cantilever selection, sample preparation, and considerations for measurement parameters. Furthermore, application examples such as mechanical properties, electromagnetic properties, and chemical property evaluations will be introduced, aiming for a practical understanding of SPM utilization that goes beyond mere shape observation.