Particle Beam Heating to Identify Defects

摘要

A charged particle beam, such as an electron beam or an ion beam, scans a device while a signal is applied to the device. As the particle beam scans, it locally heats the device, altering the local electrical characteristics of the device. The change in electrical characteristic is detected to and correlated to the position of the electron beam to localize a defect.

主权项

1. A method of locating resistive defects in a circuit, comprising:
forcing a test current through a resistive defect in a circuit; scanning a charged particle beam across a portion of the circuit including the resistive defect, the charged particle beam locally heating the circuit at the impact point; detecting a change in resistivity of the resistive defect by detecting a change in the test current forced through the resistive defect as the resistive defect is heated by the charged particle beam; and determining the position of the resistive defect from the position of the charged particle beam in its scan when the change in resistivity is detected.