In situ screening techniques for defective oxides in devices for automotive applications

Efficient screening procedures for the control of the defectivity are vital to limit early failures especially in critical automotive applications. Traditional strategies based on burn-in and in-line tests are able to provide the required level of reliability but they are expensive and time consuming. This paper presents novel built-in circuitries to screen out oxide defects in integrated circuits for the most important building blocks used in automotive applications. The proposed techniques are based on an embedded circuitry that includes control logic, high voltage generation, and leakage current monitoring. The concept and advantages of the proposed screening procedure are described in very detail and demonstrated experimentally in conjunction with the integration of test-chips.