Analog Circuit Failure Analysis Using Time-Resolved Emission

Time-Resolved Emission (TRE) is a popular technique for non-invasive acquisition of time-domain waveforms from active nodes through the backside of an integrated circuit. [1] State-of-the art TRE systems offer high bandwidths (> 5 GHz), excellent spatial resolution (0.25um), and complete visibility of all nodes on the chip. TRE waveforms are typically used for detecting incorrect signal levels, race conditions, and/or timing faults with resolution of a few ps. However, extracting the exact voltage behavior from a TRE waveform is usually difficult because dynamic photon emission is a highly nonlinear process. This has limited the perceived utility of TRE in diagnosing analog circuits. In this paper, we demonstrate extraction of voltage waveforms in passing and failing conditions from a small-swing, differential logic circuit. The voltage waveforms obtained were crucial in corroborating a theory for some failures inside an 0.18um ASIC.

Failure Analysis of Electronic and Microelectronic Components with a New Automatic Target Preparation System

Based on the requirements regarding target, reproducibility, and specimen surface quality, an automatic system for controlled material removal and target preparation has been developed. The tool is for metallographic failure analysis of electric and microelectronic components, and provides an accuracy of 5 micrometer. This article presents details of sample preparation and device evaluation methods. The images presented show typical objects of examination in the analysis of microstructures and materials in the electronics packaging industry with brief comments. For automatically controlled material removal and preparation, the tool offers alignment and measuring of the sample prior to the preparation. The desired preparation layers were achieved precisely and reproducibly with several specimens of the same kind. The automatic preparation system allowed the preparation of critical samples within a short time, with high precision and with excellent reproducibility.

Transmission Electron Microscopy and Scanning Capacitance Microscopy Analysis of Dislocation-Induced Leakages in n-channel I/O Transistors

By combining transmission electron microscopy (TEM) [1] with scanning capacitance microscopy (SCM) [2], it is possible to enhance our understanding of device failures. At Sandia, these complementary techniques have been utilized for failure analysis in new product development, process validation, and yield enhancement, providing unique information that cannot be obtained with other analytical tools. We have previously used these instruments to identify the root causes of several yield-limiting defects in CMOS device product lines [3]. In this paper, we describe in detail the use of these techniques to identify electrically active silicon dislocations in failed SRAMs and to study the underlying leakage mechanisms associated with these defects.

Root Cause Analyses of Metal Bridging for Copper Damascene Process

New process will introduce new failure mechanisms during microelectronic device manufacturing. Even if the same defect, its root causes can be different for different processes. For aluminum(Al)-tungsten(W) metallization, the root cause of metal bridging is quite simple and mostly it is blocked etch or under-etch. But, for copper damascene process, the root causes of metal bridging are complicated. This paper has discussed the various root causes of metal bridging for copper damascene process, such as those related to litho-etch issue, copper CMP issue, copper corrosion issue and so on.

Studies on a Failure Analysis Flow of Surface Contamination, Corrosion, and Underetch on Microchip Al Bondpads in Wafer Fabrication

A failure analysis flow is developed for surface contamination, corrosion and underetch on microchip Al bondpads and it is applied in wafer fabrication. SEM, EDX, Auger, FTIR, XPS and TOF-SIMS are used to identify the root causes. The results from carbon related contamination, galvanic corrosion, fluorine-induced corrosion, passivation underetch and Auger bondpad monitoring will be presented. The failure analysis flow will definitely help us to select suitable methods and tools for failure analysis of Al bondpad-related issues, identify rapidly possible root causes of the failures and find the eliminating solutions at both wafer fabrication and assembly houses.

Thermal Imaging Product Power-up: Metrology for Capturing Thermal Defects on Live Units Not Visible on Any Other Technique

This paper presented the recent application of die powerup in Thermal Imaging as applied to the detection of defects causing thermal failure on revenue products or units not being captured using other available techniques. Simulating the condition on an actual computer setup, the infrared (IR) camera should capture images simultaneously as the entire bootup process is being executed by the processor, thus revealing a series of images and thermal information on each and every step of the startup process. This metrology gives the failure analyst a better approach to acquire a set of information that substantiate in the conduct of rootcause analysis of thermal-related failure in revenue units, especially on customer returns. Defective units were intentionally engineered in order to collect the thermal response data and eventually come up with a plot of all known thermal-related defects.

The Radio Probe™: A New Measurement Tool for High Speed Integrated Circuits

This article presents a novel tool designed to allow circuit node measurements in a radio frequency (RF) integrated circuit. The discussion covers RF circuit problems; provides details on the Radio Probe design, which achieves an input impedance of 50Kohms and an overall attenuation factor of 0 dB; and describes signal to noise issues in the output signal, along with their improvement techniques. This cost-effective solution incorporates features that make it well suited to the task of differential measurement of circuit nodes within an RF IC. The Radio Probe concept offers a number of advantages compared to active probes. It is a single frequency measurement tool, so it complements, rather than replaces, active probes.

Method of Detecting Trace Metal Contamination in Thick-Film SOI Device

In the automotive IC using thick-film silicon on insulator (SOI) semiconductor device, if the gettering capability of a SOI wafer is inadequate, electrical characteristics degradation by metal contamination arises and the yield falls. At this time, an automotive IC was made experimentally for evaluation of the gettering capability as one of the purposes. In this IC, one of the output characteristics varied from the standard, therefore failure analysis was performed, which found trace metal elements as one of the causes. By making full use of 3D perspective, it is possible to fabricate a site-specific sample into 0.1 micrometre in thickness without missing a failure point that has very minute quantities of contaminant in a semiconductor device. Using energy dispersive X-ray, it is possible to detect trace metal contamination at levels 1E12 atoms per sq cm. that are conventionally detected only by trace element analysis.

Advanced Scan Diagnosis Based Fault Isolation and Defect Identification for Yield Learning

Yield analysis of sub-micron devices is an ever-increasing challenge. The difficulty is compounded by the lack of in-line inspection data as many companies adopt foundry or fab-less models for acquiring wafers. In this scenario, failure analysis is increasingly critical to help drive yields. Failure analysis is a process of fault isolation, or a method of isolating failures as precisely as possible followed by identification of a physical defect. As the number of transistors and metal layers increase, traditional fault isolation techniques are less successful at isolating a cause of failures. Costs are increasing due to the amount of time needed to locate the physical defect. One solution to the yield analysis problem is scan diagnosis based fault isolation. Previous scan diagnosis based techniques were limited with little information about the type of fault and confidence of diagnosis. With new scan diagnosis algorithms it is now possible to not only isolate, but to identify the type of fault as well as assigning a confidence ranking prior to any destructive analysis. This paper presents multiple case studies illustrating the application of scan diagnosis as an effective means to achieve yield enhancement. The advanced scan diagnostic tool used in this study provides information about the fault type as well as fault location. This information focuses failure analysis efforts toward a suspected defect, decreasing the cycle time required to determine root cause, as well as increasing the over all success rate.

An Alternative to High-Temperature and Acid/Solvent-Based Methods for Removing Integrated Circuits from Ceramic or Other Problem Substrates

Dice must often be removed from their packages and reassembled into more suitable packages for them to be tested in automated test equipment (ATE). Removing bare dice from their substrates using conventional methods poses risks for chemical, thermal, and/or mechanical damage. A new removal method is offered using metallography-based and parallel polishing-based techniques to remove the substrate while exposing the die to minimized risk for damage. This method has been tested and found to have a high success rate once the techniques are learned.