Title :
New detection method of hot-carrier degradation using photon spectrum analysis of weak luminescence on CMOS VLSI
Author :
Tsutsu, N. ; Uraoka, Y. ; Nakata, Y. ; Akiyama, S. ; Esaki, H.
Author_Institution :
Matsushita Electr. Ind. Co. Ltd., Osaka, Japan
Abstract :
A method developed to find the weakest transistor against hot-carrier-induced degradation by counting photon emission of various wavelengths in an operating VLSI circuit is presented. The method´s underlying principle is that high-energy photons emitted from the transistors are caused by hot-carrier effects. The spectral distribution of photon energy emitted from n-channel MOSFETs is studied, and is found to follow the Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution. Photon emission with about 200 nm wavelength strongly correlates with hot-carrier-induced degradation. This method was applied to the static random access memory in a microprocessor. Transistors which are estimated to be seriously degraded by hot-carrier effect were detected. This method improves the reliability of VLSI circuits without long-term testing.<>
Keywords :
CMOS integrated circuits; VLSI; hot carriers; integrated circuit testing; integrated memory circuits; random-access storage; 200 nm; CMOS VLSI; Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution; SRAM analysis; counting photon emission; high-energy photons emitted; hot-carrier degradation; hot-carrier effects; hot-carrier-induced degradation; microprocessor; n-channel MOSFETs; operating VLSI circuit; photon spectrum analysis; spectral distribution; static random access memory; test structures for reliability analysis; weak luminescence; Circuits; Degradation; Hot carrier effects; Hot carriers; Luminescence; MOSFETs; Optical filters; Photonics; Semiconductor devices; Very large scale integration;
Conference_Titel :
Microelectronic Test Structures, 1990. ICMTS 1990. Proceedings of the 1990 International Conference on
Conference_Location :
San Diego, CA, USA
DOI :
10.1109/ICMTS.1990.67894
