The Hardness Assurance Wafer Probe - HAWP

Complete radiation sensitivity assessments of integrated circuits can now be performed at the wafer level using a new system, the Hardness Assurance Wafer Probe, HAWP. This system utilizes a pulsed Nd: YAG infrared laser impinging on the backside of the wafer to evaluate the transient behavior of the circuits. A low energy X ray source collimated to a single die site actually performs total dose irradiations. Finally, special electrical measurements are used to enable a prediction of the neutron sensitivity of bipolar devices. The HAWP System is described and correlations of wafer probe results to conventional radiation tests for a digital part type are provided.