Title :
Electrical noise and VLSI interconnect reliability
Author :
Chen, Tsong-Ming ; Yassine, Abdullah M.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng., Univ. of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
fDate :
11/1/1994 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
This paper discusses the characteristics of noise sources in Al-based thin films and their relationships to VLSI reliability. Techniques of applying noise measurements in detecting existing defects/damages in the films, determining electromigration activation energy, and predicting the time to failure of VLSI interconnects are presented. The noise measurement technique can be applied to wafer-level reliability testing because it is much faster than the conventional MTF method and is nondestructive in nature. Some important considerations for wafer-level reliability testing via noise measurements are also presented in this paper
Keywords :
1/f noise; VLSI; aluminium; electric noise measurement; electromigration; equivalent circuits; failure analysis; integrated circuit interconnections; integrated circuit metallisation; integrated circuit noise; integrated circuit reliability; integrated circuit testing; metallic thin films; Al; Al-based thin films; MTF method; VLSI interconnect reliability; electrical noise; electromigration activation energy; noise measurement technique; noise sources; nondestructive method; time to failure; wafer-level reliability testing; Electrical resistance measurement; Electromigration; Integrated circuit interconnections; Low-frequency noise; Noise generators; Noise measurement; Nondestructive testing; Semiconductor device noise; Transistors; Very large scale integration;
Journal_Title :
Electron Devices, IEEE Transactions on