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Test method evaluation
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Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2023) 25 (4): 28–34.
Published: 01 November 2023
Abstract
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A scanning electron microscope system measures voltage contrast on device-under-test surfaces. This article addresses a limited set of applications that rely on voltage contrast (VC) measurements in SEM systems, showing how VC measurements can probe electrical activity running at speeds as high as 2 GHz on modern active integrated circuits.
Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2023) 25 (3): 4–9.
Published: 01 August 2023
Abstract
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Lock-in thermography (LIT) is a widely used nondestructive tool for detecting the failure location in integrated circuits. The image pattern recognition algorithm for detecting LIT hotspots benefits image processing and can be leveraged to automate failure analysis processes.
Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2022) 24 (4): 4–11.
Published: 01 November 2022
Abstract
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This article presents and evaluates a calibration method that significantly improves the spectral information that can be extracted from photon emission signals obtained from semiconductor devices. Step-by-step instructions are given for calibrating photon emission microscopes for specific measurements such as device parameters and material band gap. The article also discusses the types of errors that can occur during calibration. Although the procedure presented is used on InGaAs sensors, it applies to all common photon emission detectors.
Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2022) 24 (4): 12–21.
Published: 01 November 2022
Abstract
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This article describes a hardware metering fingerprint technique, called the memometer, that addresses supply chain integrity issues with field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). The memometer is a physically unclonable function (PUF) based on cross-coupled lookup tables that overcomes manufacturing memory power-on preset. The fingerprints are not only unique, but also reliable with average hamming distances close to the ideal values of 50% (interchip) and 0% (intrachip). Instead of having one fingerprint per device, the memometer makes provision for hundreds with the potential for more.
Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2022) 24 (3): 24–31.
Published: 01 August 2022
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This article demonstrates the value of atomic force microscopes, particularly the different electrical modes, for characterizing complex microelectronic structures. It presents experimental results obtained from deep trench isolation (DTI) structures using SCM and SSRM analysis with emphasis on the voltage applied by the AFM. From these measurements, a failure analysis workflow is proposed that facilitates AFM voltage optimization to reveal the structure of cross-sectioned samples, make comparisons, and determine the underlying cause of failures.
Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2022) 24 (3): 12–22.
Published: 01 August 2022
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This article proposes a design for a real-time Trojan detection system and explores possible solutions to the challenge of large-scale SEM image acquisition. One such solution, a deep-learning approach that generates synthetic micrographs from layout images, shows significant promise. Learning-based approaches are also used to both synthesize and classify cells. The classification outcome is matched with the design exchange format file entry to ensure the purity of the underlying IC.
Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2022) 24 (3): 4–10.
Published: 01 August 2022
Abstract
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Inline wafer electrical testing (WET) offers an early read on semiconductor manufacturing processes via measurements taken on test structures placed throughout the wafer. Interpreting the data can be challenging, however. In many cases, only a sample of the test sites are monitored in production. Complex manufacturing requirements further complicate the problem because some operations are iteratively executed within subregions across a given wafer, while others are run on the entire wafer at once, and still others are applied to wafers in batches. This results in a nested variance structure under which different physical mechanisms exhibit varying sensitivities to site-to-site, wafer-to-wafer, and lot-to-lot variations. This article uses Monte Carlo simulations to explore the impacts these hierarchical variance components can exert on perceptions of WET performance.
Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2022) 24 (3): 32–40.
Published: 01 August 2022
Abstract
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This article provides an overview of a commercial 3D X-ray system, explaining how it acquires high-resolution images of submicron defects in large intact samples. It presents examples in which the system is used to reveal cracks in thin redistribution layers, voids in organic substrates, and variations in TSV metallization on 300-mm wafers. As the authors explain, each scan can be done in as little as a few minutes regardless of sample size, and the resulting images are clear of the beam hardening artifacts that often cause problems in failure analysis and reverse engineering.
Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2022) 24 (1): 29–32.
Published: 01 February 2022
Abstract
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This article describes the basic measurement physics of scanning nitrogen vacancy (NV) microscopy and the various ways it can be used in semiconductor device failure analysis. Scanning NV microscopy can measure topography as well as magnetic fields, local current density, ac noise, and local temperature variations.
Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2022) 24 (1): 17–28.
Published: 01 February 2022
Abstract
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Scanning nonlinear dielectric microscopy (SNDM) is a scanning probe technique that measures changes in oscillation frequency between the probe tip and a voltage-biased sample. As the probe moves across the surface of a semiconductor device, the oscillation frequency changes in response to variations in dielectric properties, charge and carrier density, dopant concentration, interface states, or any number of other variables that affect local capacitance. Over the past few years, researchers at Tohoku University have made several improvements in dielectric microscopy, the latest of which is a digital version called time-resolved SNDM (tr-SNDM). Here they describe their new technique and present an application in which it is used to acquire CV, d C /d V-V , and DLTS data from SiO 2 /SiC interface samples.
Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2021) 23 (4): 18–26.
Published: 01 November 2021
Abstract
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This article provides a brief overview of STEM-in-SEM, discussing the pros and cons, recent advancements in detector technology, and the emergence of 4D STEM-in-SEM, a relatively new method that uses diffraction patterns recorded at different raster positions to enhance images offline in selected regions of interest.
Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2021) 23 (2): 13–19.
Published: 01 May 2021
Abstract
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X-ray ptychography, as recent studies show, has the potential to bridge the gap that currently exists between conventional X-ray imaging and electron microscopy. This article covers the evolution of the technology from basic 2D imaging to computed tomography to 3D ptychographic X-ray laminography (PyXL) with zoom. To demonstrate the capabilities of PyXL, a 16-nm FinFET logic IC was mechanically polished to a thickness of 20 µm and several regions were imaged at various levels of resolution.
Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2020) 22 (4): 4–8.
Published: 01 November 2020
Abstract
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The ability to discern the composition and placement of atoms in a sample makes TEM one of the most powerful characterization tools for microelectronic components. For many devices, however, the dynamics underlying normal operation do not displace atoms. Device function is, instead, mediated by electronic and thermal processes that have little effect on physical structure, necessitating additional tools to determine the causes of failure. In this article, the author presents results indicating that STEM EBIC, with the new SEEBIC mode, can provide electronic contrast that complements the physical-based contrast of STEM imaging. By identifying device features at higher risk of failure, the two methods may open a path to predictive failure analysis.
Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2020) 22 (4): 10–16.
Published: 01 November 2020
Abstract
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Differential Hall effect metrology (DHEM) provides depth profiles of all critical electrical parameters through semiconductor layers at nanometer-level depth resolution. This article describes the relatively new method and shows how it is used to measure mobility and carrier concentration profiles in different materials and structures.
Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2020) 22 (4): 28–33.
Published: 01 November 2020
Abstract
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This article discusses the basic principles of SEM-based cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy and demonstrates its usefulness in process development, statistical process control, and failure analysis. The technologies where the benefits of CL spectroscopy are most evident are compound semiconductor optoelectronics and high electron mobility transistors as reflected in the application examples.
Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2020) 22 (4): 20–25.
Published: 01 November 2020
Abstract
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This article reviews the basic principles of scanning acoustic microscopy (SAM) and presents several case studies demonstrating its use in failure analysis and counterfeit detection. The FA case studies show how SAM is used to detect delamination, cracking, and manufacturing defects in ceramic chip capacitors and resistors, voids in a full-bridge rectifier, and a radiation-induced defect in a microprocessor. In cases involving counterfeit ICs, CSAM images reveal the presence of an abnormality on component packages, evidence of relabeling, and popcorn fractures indicative of the use of excessive heat and force to dislodge components from circuit board assemblies.
Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2020) 22 (2): 22–28.
Published: 01 May 2020
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Scanning capacitance microscopy (SCM) and nanoprobing are key tools for isolating and understanding transistor level fails. In this case study, SCM and nanoprobing are used to determine the electrical characteristics of cluster-type failures in 14 nm SOI FinFET SRAM after standard FIB cross-section imaging failed to reveal any visible defects.
Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2020) 22 (2): 29–35.
Published: 01 May 2020
Abstract
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This article describes a form of lock-in thermography that achieves 3D localization of thermally active defects in stacked die packages. In this approach, phase shifts associated with thermal propagation delay are analyzed as a function of frequency. This allows for a precise localization of defects in all three spatial dimensions and can serve as a guide for subsequent high-resolution physical analyses.
Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2019) 21 (2): 10–14.
Published: 01 May 2019
Abstract
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This article describes a new technique for measuring temperatures in GaN HEMTs. The method is based on Raman spectroscopy and the use of cerium oxide particles that act like micro-Raman thermometers when scanned with a UV laser. As the article explains, phonon line shifts due to Raman scattering are used to estimate the temperature of GaN layers while surface temperatures are obtained through the cerium oxide particles. The results presented also verify that the particles, which are distributed over semiconductor and metal surfaces, do not modify the electric characteristics of the GaN devices.
Journal Articles
EDFA Technical Articles (2019) 21 (2): 4–7.
Published: 01 May 2019
Abstract
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Laser stimulation is widely used to reveal defects in ICs through either heating or photonic effects. The standard approach is to use lasers with wavelengths above the bandgap wavelength of silicon to create localized heating and below it to generate photocurrent. In practice, most FAs use 1340 nm (IR) lasers for TIVA measurements and either 532 nm (visible) or 1064 nm (near IR) lasers for LIVA analysis. However, as this article demonstrates, visible and near IR lasers can also be used for TIVA analysis and, in some cases, may be preferrable based on signal strength and spatial resolution.
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