Title :
AC hot-carrier degradation in the super-100 MHz operation range
Author :
Yoshida, S. ; Matsui, T. ; Okuyama, K. ; Kubota, K.
Author_Institution :
Hitachi ULSI Eng. Corp., Tokyo, Japan
Abstract :
Recent progress in operation speed of VLSIs requires accurate prediction of AC circuit lifetimes determined by hot carrier degradation in the frequency range over 100 MHz. Our main concerns are the validity of quasi-static calculations for AC lifetimes and the effects of enhanced degradation in highspeed operation. Since few reports have referred to measured results in the super-100MHz frequency range, we studied AC hot-carrier degradation up to 369 MHz using high-speed ring oscillators. Oscillation waveforms were detected with an electron-beam tester since inaccurate waveforms by simulation based on erroneous estimates for stray capacitance may lead to incorrect circuit lifetimes in quasi-static calculation.<>
Keywords :
MOS integrated circuits; VLSI; circuit reliability; electron beam testing; hot carriers; integrated circuit testing; life testing; 77 to 369 MHz; AC circuit lifetimes; AC hot-carrier degradation; MOSFET driveability; VLSIs; electron-beam tester; enhanced degradation; high-speed ring oscillators; oscillation waveforms; quasi-static calculations; super-100 MHz operation range; Circuit simulation; Circuit testing; Degradation; Frequency measurement; Hot carriers; Life estimation; Life testing; Lifetime estimation; Ring oscillators; Very large scale integration;
Conference_Titel :
VLSI Technology, 1994. Digest of Technical Papers. 1994 Symposium on
Conference_Location :
Honolulu, HI, USA
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-1921-4
DOI :
10.1109/VLSIT.1994.324415
