Probe assisted localized doping of aluminum into silicon substrates


Abstract "This paper discusses the development of a rapid, large-scale integration of deterministic dopant placement technique for encoding information in physical structures at the nanoscale. The doped structures inherit identical and customizable radiofrequency (RF) electronic signature, which could be leveraged into an identification feature unique to the tag item. This will allow any manuf... » read more

Manufacturing Bits: Oct. 11


IC security using AFMs The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a probe assisted doping technique (PAD), a technology that could help prevent counterfeit chips and electronic devices from entering the market. PAD involves creating a unique ID tag on every chip using an atomic force microscope (AFM). Basically, an AFM system incorporates a cantilever with a tin... » read more

Managing Wafer Retest


Every wafer test touch-down requires a balance between a good electrical contact and preventing damage to the wafer and probe card. Done wrong, it can ruin a wafer and the customized probe card and result in poor yield, as well as failures in the field. Achieving this balance requires good wafer probing process procedures as well as monitoring of the resulting process parameters, much of it ... » read more