Surface Analysis technique for insulating substrates

jgrant333

Hello,

I have a CMOS chip and believe there to be an unwanted insulating layer above a metallic pad. My first thought was to use Auger spectroscopy to examine the surface composition however Auger can only be used on conducting materials - my substrate is insulating.

My question; is there a surface spectroscopy technique suitable for examining insulating substrates? My guess is SIMS should work but I am novice in this topic!

Any help will be warmly received!

Thanks,