A New VLSI Diagnosis Technique: Focused Ion Beam Assisted Multi-level Circuit Probing

This paper describes a new VLSI diagnosis technique using the focused ion beam(FIB) technique combined with FIB assisted chemical vapor depostion of W films. It was found that this technique was very useful for failure analysis of VLSI by allowing for the capability of probing a specific internal circuit node on VLSI multi-level circuits. FIB induced damages on MOS transistors and methods to remove the dmages are also described.