Title :
High performance electron beam tester for voltage measurement on unpassivated and passivated devices
Author :
Tokunaga, Yasuo ; Frosien, Jurgen
Author_Institution :
Advantest Corp., Tokyo, Japan
Abstract :
An electron-beam tester designated for precise and damage-free voltage measurement and for diagnostics in the interior of highly integrated circuits has been developed. Its specifications meet the requirements necessary for testing present and future generations of integrated circuits with line patterns down to 0.5 μm. The electron optical column has been optimized for low-energy operation, providing an electron beam of 0.1 μm diameter with 2 nA current at 1 keV electron energy. The variable extraction voltage system incorporated in the tester not only enables accurate voltage measurements on unpassivated devices, but also offers the possibility of detailed failure analysis on passivated devices. On passivated devices, however, limitations may arise when the passivation layer thickness and the line separation distance reach the same order
Keywords :
automatic test equipment; electron beam applications; failure analysis; fault location; integrated circuit testing; integrated memory circuits; large scale integration; voltage measurement; 0.5 micron; 1 keV; 2 nA; CAD; DRAM; IC testing; electron beam tester; failure analysis; integrated circuits; integrated memory circuits; line patterns; passivated devices; unpassivated devices; voltage measurement; Circuit testing; Control systems; Electron beams; Electron optics; Optical control; Optical design; Optical signal processing; Passivation; System testing; Voltage measurement;
Conference_Titel :
Test Conference, 1989. Proceedings. Meeting the Tests of Time., International
Conference_Location :
Washington, DC
DOI :
10.1109/TEST.1989.82383
