Trends In Testing: New Challenges Create New Opportunities


As advancements in semiconductors and microelectronics soldier ahead into emerging, even uncharted, territory, new test challenges arise. To that end, let’s look at a few key trends and challenges that are driving opportunities for innovation in the test sector. Technology convergence has been a buzzword for some time, and this trend is only going to intensify with the heightened need to m... » read more

Silicon Lifecycle Management: Actionable Silicon Insights Through Intelligent Measurement And Analysis (2022)


Semiconductors have always been challenging to develop, with many waves of innovation in electronic design automation (EDA) tools and fabrication technologies barely keeping ahead of ever-growing design size and sophistication. Once again, the industry has reached a tipping point. The combination of increasing chip and system complexity, coupled with higher expectations for product performance ... » read more

Atomic Force Microscopy Covers The Landscape Of Polymer Characterization


"Materials scientists designing a polymer-based material for a specific application must analyze how and why all these factors come together to impact the final product. Understanding the structure and properties at the microscopic level is critical to a complete understanding of the material. “Everybody wants to make their materials perform better at the macroscale,” says Bede Pittenger, a... » read more

New Method For BEOL Overlay And Process Margin Characterization


This paper presents a new method, design for inspection (DFI) to characterize overlay. Using design-assisted voltage contrast measurement, the method enables in-line test and monitoring of process induced OVL and CD variation of backend-of line (BEOL) features with litho-etch-lithoetch (LELE) patterning. While only some of the features of multi-color patterning scheme are chosen to be aligned d... » read more

Measurement Of Deep Trenches To Study The RIE Lag Effect


The demand for accurate characterization of high aspect ratio geometries such as narrow gaps, deep trenches or deep holes arises in many technologies and industries. A variety of metrology techniques have been utilized to accommodate these needs. Among the candidates for this type of metrology, 3D optical profiling characterization is becoming more and more prevalent in process control. Due to ... » read more

System Level Test — A Primer


As semiconductor geometries become smaller and greater complexity is pushed into chips or packages, System Level Test (SLT) is becoming essential. SLT is testing a device under test (DUT) as it is used in the end-use system, by merely using it rather than creating test vectors, as is done with traditional automated test equipment (ATE). Tests are still written but in a different way… Pete... » read more

Semiconductor Test: Staying Ahead Of Nanodevices


In the semiconductor fabrication process, engineers continue to innovate, enabling smaller transistors and higher density circuits. The transition to finFETs allowed 7nm and 5nm processes to realize circuits of amazing density, and the progress of nanosheet transistors provides confidence in the future advancement of digital circuit cost reduction and performance improvement. As individual t... » read more

Deep Learning In Industrial Inspection


Deep learning is at the upper end of AI complexity, sifting through more data to achieve more accurate results. Charlie Zhu, vice president of R&D at CyberOptics, talks about how DL can be utilized with inspection to identify defects in chips that are not discernible by traditional computer vision algorithms, classifying multiple objects simultaneously from multiple angles and taking into accou... » read more

Bridging IC Design, Manufacturing, And In-Field Reliability


Experts at the Table: Semiconductor Engineering sat down to talk about silicon lifecycle management and how that can potentially glue together design, manufacturing, and devices in the field, with Prashant Goteti, principal engineer at Intel; Rob Aitken, R&D fellow at Arm; Zoe Conroy, principal hardware engineer at Cisco; Subhasish Mitra, professor of electrical engineering and computer sci... » read more

Compound Semiconductor Innovation Advances EVs And Other Green Technologies


As the world works to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, global adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is driving an increased demand for high-power, energy-efficient compound semiconductors, such as silicon carbide (SiC)-based components, throughout the entire EV assembly process. Renewable energy technology is now at the forefront of climate-forward research, with accelerating EV sales playing�... » read more

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