Chapter 9 - Microelectronic Test Chips for VLSI Electronics

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter illustrates the design and development of microelectronic test chips for very large-scale integration (VLSI) electronics. The microelectronic test chip is an ancillary test device that is manufactured along with product circuits on wafers. It is composed of numerous device-like test structures that are measured by a variety of means to obtain information that is difficult, if not impossible, to obtain from product circuits. The test structures are designed to provide a rapid analysis of a specific portion of the wafer fabrication process. The use of test chips is expected to enhance the reliability of the final product and reduce its cost. The test chip consists of the following eleven test structures: a bipolar transistor, base resistor, base-under-emitter resistor, step-coverage resistor, metal-sheet resistor, base-collector diode with buried layer, buried-layer resistor, metal–semiconductor contact resistor array, metal–metal contact resistor array, multi-emitter transistor, and metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitor. These test structures are used in device characterization, process control, and circuit reliability evaluation. In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the vital role test chips can play in the manufacture of electronic devices. This awareness can be seen in the commercial availability of multifunction parametric testers, which greatly facilitate the acquisition of test-chip data.