Integration of SQUID Microscopy into FA Flow

Scanning superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) microscopy using high-TC SQUID sensor has been slowly gaining acceptance in the failure analysis (FA) community as a number of silicon device manufacturers are applying the tool and technique to an ever-broadening spectrum of silicon technologies for detecting the location of leakage and short failures by imaging the current path through the die and package. This paper will present the application of scanning SQUID microscopy to short isolation on die and explore the integration of this technique into the FA flow. From the examples presented in this paper, it can be seen that die level short isolation has been possible even when the separation from SQUID sensor to current is about 800-900µm. Several potentially useful techniques that will increase the accuracy of locating the die level short nondestructively are also discussed.