Illumination-sensitive failure mechanism-a case study on transient Icc failure

Illumination-sensitive failure in integrated circuits (IC) has generated considerable interest in the failure analysis community, and powerful techniques such as OBIC and LIVA have emerged (Cole et al, 1995; Wills et al, 1990). However, these techniques required the use of a new generation of SOM-based equipment which may be inaccessible to some failure analysis laboratories. This paper presents an alternative to the SOM approach to the study of a illumination-sensitive and transient I_cc failure. By using emission microscopy, FIB isolation, and mechanical probing, coupled with an in-depth circuit analysis, the effort leads to a full understanding of the failure mechanism