Tester gets the measure of advanced IC reliability

The S510 semiconductor reliability test system is a high-channel-count turnkey solution for use in reliability testing and lifetime modelling of the world's most advanced ULSI CMOS processes.

The S510 semiconductor reliability test system is a high-channel-count turnkey solution for use in reliability testing and lifetime modelling of the world's most advanced ULSI CMOS processes at the 65nm node and beyond.

It provides a high degree of wafer-level reliability (WLR) test throughput and flexibility, reducing the time to assess reliability and to perform lifetime modelling, thereby ultimately decreasing time-to-market for projects in technology development and process qualification.

The S510 system can also be used for production WLR monitoring or as a lab parametric test system.

A fully automated, multichannel parallel reliability test system, Keithley's S510 system features scalable channel counts from 20 to 72 channels, an independent stress/measure channel for each structure, and simultaneous measurement across all channels.

The S510 system can test multiple devices simultaneously on a wafer in conjunction with a semi-automatic or fully automatic probe station.

As semiconductor device geometries shrink below 90nm, new materials, structures, and processes are changing device lifetime behaviour.

In particular, negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) and time dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) models have become a very critical part of the technology development cycle.

New models for NBTI and TDDB must be quickly developed early in the technology development cycle.

To meet faster development cycle times, NBTI and TDDB measurement is moving to on-wafer testing and away from the conventional package level testing that requires time consuming chip packaging processes.

The S510 semiconductor reliability test system accelerates the development of new lifetime models by automating high channel count parallel on-wafer reliability testing to quickly provide statistically large data samples.

Keithley's S510 system does what no competitive solution can do.

The S510 system meets the measurement challenges of high channel count parallel NBTI and TDDB testing with SMU-per-device architecture, while providing production grade automation capabilities to maximise system throughput.

Dedicating an SMU to each device pin enables seamless transition between stress and measurement cycles and highly controlled device relaxation during NBTI testing.

This arrangement also allows the device to be closely monitored during stress cycling, offering much greater visibility into device degradation in both TDDB and NBTI.

To fully meet the need for large volumes of test data in the technology development lab, the S510 system can be paired with a fully automated production prober.

S510 system capabilities are built on Keithley's proven KTE automation test executive software.

The interactive component, KTEI, lets users do real-time graphing and interactive test modules, in addition to lab-grade automation for use with analytical probers or semiautomatic probers.

Keithley's S510 system software includes a parallel test module that performs tests for NBTI, TDDB, and CHC and is optimised to address the significant challenges of controlling up to 72 pins in parallel.

The S510 semiconductor reliability test system also increases the quality of test data by providing a unique SMU-per-DUT architecture that is capable of high-precision measurements, TDDB soft breakdown monitoring, and minimum NBTI stress relaxation time, a common problem with many NBTI test setups.

Conventional WLR test systems have a limited number of source-measure units or rely heavily on switching, which leads to lower throughput or inadequate test results.

The S510 system uses a large number of parallel stress/measure channels to enable the best possible NBTI and TDDB testing.

In addition to WLR testing, Keithley's S510 system can be easily repurposed to perform device characterisation, saving the time and expense needed to buy and configure a separate system.

The S510 semiconductor reliability test system bridges the space between fully automated parametric test systems for production, such as Keithley's S680 DC/RF parametric test system, and semi-automated interactive bench top device characterisation systems, such as Keithley's Model 4200-SCS semiconductor characterisation system.

Customers gain the benefit of a powerful migration path and investment protection as they move toward and beyond the 90nm node.

Keithley's S510 semiconductor reliability test system will be available from June 2005.

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