Smart-array for pipelined BTI characterization

Deeply-scaled transistors fabricated in advanced High-k/Metal Gate (HK/MG) technologies have an intrinsic variability, requiring characterization of a large number of transistors to obtain statistically relevant data. A powerful tool in the form of a Smart-array circuit is designed to serve the BTI characterization needs on an industrial scale, where time plays an important role. The Smart-array circuit is designed such that 700 pMOS and nMOS transistors can be measured using the concept of pipelining. A significant reduction of up to 88.5% in time is demonstrated by establishing a pipeline of 15 pMOS transistors and the Measure-Stress-Measure (MSM) scheme of choice.