Four types of silicon FINs on SiO2 were used as test structures for damage analysis: amorphous Si (a-Si), annealed Si (a*-Si), as-deposited poly-Si (p-Si) and crystalline silicon (c-Si). The collapse of single FINs was analyzed by lateral force AFM measurement and the damage due to a physical cleaning process was optically evaluated in parallel. The number of damaged FINs and the collapse force were compared. We observed a clear correlation between the damage counts and structure strengths. For both mega-sonic and spray cleaning techniques the damage decreases in the order a-Si > poly-Si > a*-Si > c-Si. The collapse forces increase in the same order 0.5 mN (a-Si) < 0.8 mN (poly-Si) < 1.0 mN (a*-Si) < 1.6 mN (c-Si). This remarkable correlation can be explained by structure and interface strength. The collapse behavior of a-Si FINs is also different from poly-Si FINs. a-Si FINs delaminate, break at one end, bend and finally break at the other end creating long fragments, as observed by AFM. Poly-Si and a*-Si FINs break at two ends simultaneously and create smaller fragments. This mechanism was also confirmed by detailed classification of the defects generated by physical forces during a cleaning process using physical forces. (C) 2011 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/1.3603854] All rights reserved.