Contactless testing using EB techniques: an important support to the debug of modern VLSI

EB (electron beam) testing can be a very useful aid to designers of complex VLSI components. The reasons why contactless testing has become so popular are presented in this paper from a designer point of view. The link with DFT (Design for Testability) is demonstrated with the possibility of improving the global observability of the whole chip. After a brief introduction, the basic theory of SEM in the voltage contrast mode is presented and the traditional EBT techniques are explained. The most advanced features available in modern EBT equipment are also described with their interaction with the design and testing environments