Method and apparatus for measuring gate leakage current in an integrated circuit
US6348806B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 18, 1999 |
| Grant date | Feb 19, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 18, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01R31/275
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An integrated circuit (10) includes a measurement circuit (20) for determining if a transistor (26) has normal gate leakage current or has a gate leakage current which is greater than normal. A transistor such as transistor (26) may be in a condition known as quasi-breakdown which typically occurs in response to some electrical stress. The characteristic of quasi-breakdown is that there is a very significant increase in gate leakage current, the transistor continues to function as a transistor but perhaps with degraded performance, and the transistor will fail if it continues to receive the stresses that caused it to go into quasi-breakdown. Thus, the measurement circuit (20), which is included on the integrated circuit (10), provides an early warning that a transistor, a device under test (26), is going to fail if the operating conditions remain the same.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.