Kerf contact to silicon redesign for defect isolation and analysis

a technology of kerf contact and silicon, applied in the direction of individual semiconductor device testing, semiconductor/solid-state device testing/measurement, instruments, etc., can solve the problems of row in the contact chain failing without a destructive test, complete chain will fail electrical testing, and no conventional mechanism for isolating

Inactive Publication Date: 2002-05-30
IBM CORP
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012] Therefore, with the invention, the location of the defect in a defective chain can be precisely determined without damaging any element of the chain.

Problems solved by technology

If any one element in a contact chain is defective, the entire chain will fail electrical testing.
However, there is no conventional mechanism for isolating which contact / row in the contact chain failed without a destructive test.
For years the failure analysis community has been unable to provide timely and accurate assessments of quality and reliability in contact chains.
Trying to isolate a problem and determine if that problem is with one contact, many random contacts, or all contacts is extremely time consuming and impractical.
Time wasted in analysis increases costs and decreases yield.
There is also a problem of accuracy in the conventional destructive analysis.
Such contact often damages the line 10.
The resulting damage adds error to any measurement, and therefore affects the analysis adversely.

Method used

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  • Kerf contact to silicon redesign for defect isolation and analysis
  • Kerf contact to silicon redesign for defect isolation and analysis
  • Kerf contact to silicon redesign for defect isolation and analysis

Examples

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Embodiment Construction

[0019] Contact chains provide process and reliability engineers with information about the basic connections between conductors within an integrated circuit device, upper levels of wiring as well as wiring outside the integrated circuit package. If any single contact should be electrically open or excessively resistive, the entire chain will fail.

[0020] To overcome the problems with conventional chains discussed above, the invention includes redesigned contacts chains that include conductive pads 20 (FIGS. 2A-2B) connected to the ends of each row in the contact chain in the kerf region of the wafer (e.g., the portion that will be removed when the wafer is separated into individual chips). The pads 20 allow any row of contacts within the chain to be individually tested in order to isolate electrically open or excessively resistive contacts, without contacting the chain itself, or damaging any of the chain's connecting metal.

[0021] FIG. 2A is similar to FIG. 1A and illustrates many ro...

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Abstract

A method and structure for an integrated circuit technology segment test structure including a plurality of technology test structures connected together as a chain of elements and a plurality of externally probable regions positioned along said chain of elements, said externally probable regions being positioned so as to enable location of a failed test structure.

Description

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention[0002] The present invention generally relates to testing conductive patterns in integrated circuits and more particularly to an improved system for identifying the location of defects in conductive patterns.[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art[0004] State of the art integrated circuits, such as semiconductor chips, include multiple levels of patterned wiring (e.g., levels M1-M4). During manufacturing, the patterned conductors are tested for defects. In one form of testing, contact chains (which connect thousands of contacts / conductors on a give area of a chip) are formed and tested for electrical conductivity. One such contact chain is referred to as a "kerf" contact chain. The kerf is the area which will be removed during the separation of chips on a wafer. The chains are formed by contacts in these "kerf" areas and the chains are broken when the chips are separated and the kerf region is removed.[0005] FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate conventional se...

Claims

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Application Information

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IPC IPC(8): H01L23/544
CPCH01L22/34
InventorSLOMAN, DAVID E.
OwnerIBM CORP