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General Info

Failure Analysis & Reliability Physics

Equipment

World Experts

We are world experts who have developed many techniques that are now industry standards such as:

  • Expertise in Si CMOS, III-V, MEMS, and Optoelectronics
  • Support through entire product lifecycle
  • Not just failure, but functional analysis
Techniques and Tools
  • Light Emission – localizing defects Laser
  • Based Techniques: TIVA, LIVA
  • E-Beam Based Techniques: PVC, CIVA
  • Atomic Force Microscopy
  • Laser Scanning Microscopy
  • SEM including nano-probing and environmental mode
  • FIB – Dual Beam and Backside circuit edit
  • TEM
  • SQUID
  • Deprocessing laboratory

Optical Beam

Floating Substrate Passive Voltage Contrast (FS-PVC)

  • E-beam based technique
  • Scanning electron beam charges metal and surrounding insulator by emission of secondary electrons from the surface
  • Floating conductors have relatively higher positive charge than grounded or shorted conductors and have darker contrast
  • Locates shorted gates in integrated circuits
 PVC Image

Charge-Induced Voltage Alteration (CIVA) Imaging of a Passivated IC

CIVA

Constructional Analysis

Constructional Analysis

Scanning Probe Microscopy (SPM)

  • Atomic Force Microscopy
  • Scanning Tunneling Microscopy
  • Scanning Capacitance Microscopy
    • 90 nm technology FA
    • Sub-Zeptofarad (10-21) sensitivities Backside analysis
    • Charge measurements: floating gate

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM)

  • Large chamber (400 mm)
  • 1 nm resolution
  • 100 electrical feed-through
  • Sub-micron probing
  • EDX
    • FA capabilities
    • Electron Beam Induced Current
    • Charge Induced Volt Alteration
    • Passive Voltage Contrast
    • class="style1">Resistive Contrast Imaging
  • Online by 9/30
 Nano probing in SEM chamber

Focused Ion BEAM (FIB)

Dual beam FIB

  • FEI Nanolab 600
  • 6” wafers
  • Dep metals & insulation
    • Pt
    • SiO2
  • Etch insulators and Metal
  • “Fab in a Box”
For additional information or questions, please email us at Failure Analysis

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