Voltage contrast measurements on sub-micrometer structures with an electric force microscope based test system

Electric force microscopy (EFM) testing is a promising tool for contact-less circuit internal function and failure analysis of integrated circuits (IC). Up to now several EFM-test techniques have been developed and their efficiency was mostly demonstrated on test structures with geometrical dimensions down to 1 (mu)m not presenting the state-of-the-art. This paper presents voltage contrast measurements at sub-micrometer interconnection lines successfully demonstrating the applicability of EFM-testing in next generation ICs. For the analysis of the ability of EFM-testing regarding voltage contrast measurements at sub-micrometer structures as a first step the dependence of measurement sensitivity on the structure width and on the number of active conducting lines under the probe tip is investigated. The results will be discussed. © 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.