Application of conductive AFM on the electrical characterization of single-bit marginal failure

The challenge to determine the failure mechanism in submicrometer devices has been increasing with transitions in technological processes. Determining the failure mechanism and finding the associated physical defect have become extremely difficult, if not impossible, due to the increased complexity in architecture and the extremely large number of transistors in ICs. In this investigation, the efficiency and the success rate of using conductive atomic force microscope (cAFM) in the localization of defects in 90-nm devices are shown. How the method was utilized to obtain full electrical data on a single-bit failure using the I-V curve sweep mode and how cAFM can be a suitable alternative to the passive voltage contrast method and in-chamber pico-probing were also demonstrated