Abstract
Dual beam FIBSEM systems invite the use of innovative techniques to localize IC fails both electrically and physically. For electrical localization, we present a quick and reliable in-situ FIBSEM technique to deposit probe pads with very low parasitic leakage (Ipara < 4E-11A at 3V). The probe pads were Pt, deposited with ion beam assistance, on top of highly insulating SiOx, deposited with electron beam assistance. The buried plate (n-Band), p-well, wordline and bitline of a failing and a good 0.2 μm technology DRAM single cell were contacted. Both cells shared the same wordline for direct comparison of cell characteristics. Through this technique we electrically isolated the fail to a single cell by detecting leakage between the polysilicon wordline gate and the cell diffusion. For physical localization, we present a completely in-situ FIBSEM technique that combines ion milling, XeF2 staining and SEM imaging. With this technique, the electrically isolated fail was found to be a hole in the gate oxide at the bad cell.
