Method for measuring stress induced leakage current and gate dielectric integrity using corona discharge
US6538462B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 30, 1999 |
| Grant date | Mar 25, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 30, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01L2924/0002
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
SILC characteristics and density of GOI defects of silicon wafers with thin dielectric films (e.g. SiO2) are determined using a non-contact method that does not require any test structures on the wafer. The method includes stressing a dielectric with a corona discharge and measuring the dielectric current-dielectric voltage (I-V) characteristics by monitoring under illumination the corona charge neutralization after stress. An I-V measurement done as function of corona fluence gives SILC characteristics of the wafer. The SILC characteristics are then compared at a constant dielectric field to provide a measure of GOI defect density. The I-V characteristic corresponding to low fluence that does not generate measurable SILC are used to determine a thickness of dielectric film.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.