Metal layers short localization with EBAC and FIB circuit modifications performed at 54° stage tilt

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• Application Note - EBAC

Products used in this application

• NANO Product Line

In the field of semiconductor failure analysis, the use of Electron Beam Absorbed Current (EBAC) combined with FIB-cut in Dual Beams has become popular to investigate shorts and opens between metal lines.

In this article, we describe the defect localization of a short between two networks on an ASIC from the automotive industry. These networks are crossing each other at four different locations.

We used a combination of FIB-cuts with EBAC images to determine the crossing point where the short is located, with the following procedure:

• The microscope stage was brought to a 54° tilt angle
• The two probes were landed on one of the networks and on the ground respectively
• For each crossing points, EBAC images were recorded before and after FIB-cuts on one of the networks close to the intersection
• Comparison of the EBAC images before and after the FIB-cuts allowed to determine the location of the short

This application shows the ability of the miBot™ nanoprobers to precisely position and land probes when the microscope sample stage is tilted.

Experiment realized at

Fraunhofer CAM, Halle, Germany

Reference

W. Courbat and J. Jatzkowski,“Faster and More Accurate Failure Analysis: Circuit Editing and Short Localization Performed at Same FEB Tilt Angle using Multiple Techniques”, Electronic Device Failure Analysis, 21(4), p. 22-28, 2019.

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Electrical failure analysis and semiconductor defect localization techniques