A novel in-line monitor for optimizing power vs. performance in CMOS logic

Power dissipation is one of the most critical issues of modern microprocessors. A number of processing steps is known to be critical to the electrical device parameters that determine power consumption, but the feedback from electrical test, required for process control, is lagging well behind the steps involved. By using a structure that can be probed immediately after application of silicide, feedback of electrical data, specifically overlap capacitance, can be acquired significantly earlier. The current measured has a remarkable predictive value for the power vs. performance of the finished product.