Practical Dynamic Laser Stimulation Techniques for Complex Analog and Mixed Signal IC Failure Analysis

Abstract

Abstract The increasing electrical design and physical complexity of semiconductor devices, especially in the analog and mixed signal (AMS) applications, directly influences the development and evolution of fault isolation techniques. One of these techniques is Dynamic Laser Stimulation (DLS) which is widely used in the industry for effective identification of subtle failure mechanisms and soft defects especially for AC signal-related failures [1, 2]. However, for analysis of some complex AMS IC failure modes, the tool’s standard setup may not always be compatible with the biasing requirements of the device. For example, the setup would typically require expensive and intricate test systems (i.e. Automatic test equipment (ATE), SCAN tester, etc.) to be interfaced with the DLS tool for the analysis to be feasible and successful [3, 4]. This paper presents simple and practical techniques to implement DLS without the need for an expensive test support system. These techniques were applied in three different FA cases involving AMS ICs with complex and temperature-dependent failure modes. The results of subsequent analysis indicated success in isolating the exact defect sites.