The defect detection capabilities of Power Spectrum Analysis (PSA) [1] have been successfully combined with local laser heating to isolate defective circuitry in a high-speed Si Phase Locked Loop (PLL). The defective operation resulted in missed counts when operating at multi-GHz speeds and elevated temperatures. By monitoring PSA signals at a specific frequency through zero-spanning and scanning the suspect device with a heating laser (1340 nm wavelength), the area(s) causing failure were localized. PSA circumvents the need for a rapid pass/fail detector like that used for Soft Defect Localization (SDL) [2] or Laser-Assisted Defect Analysis (LADA) [3] and converts the at-speed failure to a DC signature. The experimental setup for image acquisition and examples demonstrating utility are described.
We designed, fabricated and measured the performance of nanoelectromechanical (NEMS) switches. Initial data are reported with one of the switch designs having a measured switching time of 400 ns and an operating voltage of 5 V. The switches operated laterally with unmeasurable leakage current in the 'off' state. Surface micromachining techniques were used to fabricate the switches. All processing was CMOS compatible. A single metal layer, defined by a single mask step, was used as the mechanical switch layer. The details of the modeling, fabrication and testing of the NEMS switches are reported.