Reliability challenges for the continued scaling of IC technologies

The rapid evolution of Si process technologies presents significant challenges to the understanding of the physics of failure of circuits and the characterization of their reliability. Introduction of new materials at the 28 nm node and below, as well as new FinFET transistor structures, complicates the task of reliability assurance. Here we review the major reliability challenges for transistors, interconnect and circuits that can be foreseen with these scaling trends.