ESD: a pervasive reliability concern for IC technologies
Article Abstract:
The electrostatic discharge (ESD) phenomenon has the potential to compromise the integrity of very-large-scale integration chips. Human Body ESD incidence can lead to a discharge of approximately 100 ns with peak currents in the amperes range, thereby, causing damage to electronic devices and components such as oxide rupture or interconnect burn out. Low voltages can also cause minimal damage that can remain undetected even up to the board level in the system end-user. Integrated circuit chips must be protected from these destructive effects of ESD. Some of the preventive approaches include the use of antistatic coatings or the use of air ionizers as charge neutralizer. Proper use of wrist straps and shielded bags are also advisable to prevent damage due to human handling. Effective on-chip protection is a major undertaking considering the lack of reliable modeling programs.
Publication Name: Proceedings of the IEEE
Subject: Electronics
ISSN: 0018-9219
Year: 1993
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IC failure analysis: techniques and tools for quality and reliability improvement
Article Abstract:
Failure analysis (FA) is an important part of the electronics industry, particularly in the quest for reliability, higher yield and better performance. Investing in FA personnel and equipment can lead to lesser cost and better quality. Techniques and equipment for integrated circuit (IC) FA have advanced so fast in reaction to submicron technologies such as wafer-scale integration and ultralarge-scale integration. The advances in the techniques are in stride with the constantly evolving complexity of the components. Some of these techniques/tools are electrical measurement, optical, physical and thermal imaging. The steps in the FA process include failure verification, characterization of the symptoms of the failure, verification of the symptom-failure relationship, determination of the root cause of the failure, corrective action and documentation of the FA results.
Publication Name: Proceedings of the IEEE
Subject: Electronics
ISSN: 0018-9219
Year: 1993
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Applied optical diagnostics of semiconductors
Article Abstract:
Optical techniques have been used in semiconductor physics for a long time. They are now finding applications for the characterization of semiconductor materials and devices. The maturation of the laser industry has provided optical diagnostic tools for a variety of users. Optics can be used for growth, fabrication or testing and do not require special environments. Optical tools are nonintrusive and noncontact, may have submicron resolution and can be used to acquire data in real time. A wide array of techniques are available for measuring a variety of different properties or parameters. The principles behind the most popular techniques are discussed, including identification of materials, wafer mapping with high spatial resolution and in-situ probing of growth and device operation.
Publication Name: Proceedings of the IEEE
Subject: Electronics
ISSN: 0018-9219
Year: 1992
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