IC Probe Landing Pad Structure for Shrink-Scale Electrode Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
As IC features shrink, direct hardware probing of electrodes becomes increasingly difficult and prone to damage during circuit probe testing, necessitating more precise and less forceful methods to ensure accurate testing without destruction.
Innovation Solution
A conductive structure is introduced over a dielectric layer to expose electrodes, forming wider and stronger access points for electrical connection, with each conductive structure serving as a CP landing pad for test probes, allowing for stable and protective testing before being removed to facilitate further IC processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If direct hardware probing of electrodes is used, then circuit probe testing can be performed, but the electrodes are prone to damage due to shrinkage of IC features
Solution Approach 1:
A conductive structure is introduced as an intermediary between the test probe and the electrode. The conductive structure has a larger surface area than the electrode, allowing the probe to contact the conductive structure rather than directly contacting the small electrode, thereby distributing the mechanical stress and preventing electrode damage while enabling accurate electrical testing
Solution Approach 2:
The conductive structure extends the testing interface from the microscopic dimension of the electrode to a larger dimensional footprint. By creating a conductive structure with dimensions significantly larger than the electrode, the probe testing transitions from direct micro-scale contact to a macro-scale interface, reducing mechanical stress on the electrode
2Adaptability or versatility
If IC features are shrunk to increase functionality, then device capacity increases, but probing becomes increasingly difficult and prone to damage
Solution Approach 1:
The conductive structure creates a larger dimensional interface for probing while maintaining connection to the shrunk electrode. This allows the device to benefit from shrunk features (increased functionality) while the testing operation occurs at a larger, more manageable scale, effectively decoupling device scaling from testing scalability
Solution Approach 2:
The conductive structure serves as a mediator that connects the shrunk electrode to the probing system. It allows the electrode to maintain its small size for increased device functionality while providing a larger contact area for ease of probing and testing operations
3Reliability
If conductive structures are introduced for testing, then electrode protection and stable access are provided, but additional processing steps are required
Solution Approach 1:
The conductive structure serves multiple functions: it protects the electrode during probing, provides a stable electrical connection for testing, and can be integrated into the existing IC fabrication process flow. By combining multiple functions into a single structure, the additional functionality is achieved without proportionally increasing process complexity
Data Source
AI summary
Some embodiments relate to a method of an integrated circuit structure having a conductive structure for circuit probe testing. The method includes providing an integrated circuit structure including a substrate, a dielectric structure disposed over the substrate, and a plurality of electrodes disposed over an upper surface of the dielectric structure. The method also includes forming a first dielectric layer over the dielectric structure and the plurality of electrodes, etching the first dielectric layer over each of the plurality of electrodes, forming a conductive layer over the first dielectric layer and the plurality of electrodes, and removing at least a portion of the conductive layer to form a plurality of conductive structures over the plurality of electrodes. Each of the plurality of conductive structures contacts a corresponding subset of the plurality of electrodes.