Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Comp. Ltd.

Hway-Chi Lin

Ying-Lang Wang

Yu-Ku Lin

Wen-Pin Chang

Yi-Lung Cheng

Jowei Dun

Jun Wu

Chien-Shih Tsai

Bi-Ling Liu

Chin-Chuang Peng

A method for testing integrated circuits includes forming a plurality of substantially identical first test structures, each comprising a first via structure connected to a first metal line, stress testing the plurality of first test structures to obtain a first plurality of failure times, and forming a plurality of substantially identical second test structures, each comprising a second via structure connected to a second metal line, wherein the second via structure has a substantially different reliability from the first via structure, and wherein the first metal line and the second metal line are substantially identical. The method further includes stress testing the plurality of second test structures to obtain a second plurality of failure times, and determining early failures of the plurality of first test structures and the plurality of second test structures.

Method for determining electro-migration failure mode

A simple method for calculating the optimum amount of HDP deposited material that needs to be removed during CMP (without introducing dishing) is described. This method derives from our observation of a linear relationship between the amount of material that needs to be removed in order to achieve full planarization and a quantity called &ldquo;OD for CMP density&rdquo;. The latter is defined as PA&times;(100&minus;PS) where PA is the percentage of active area relative to the total wafer area and PS is the percentage of sub-areas relative to the total wafer area. The sub-areas are regions in the dielectric, above the active areas, that are etched out prior to CMP. Thus, once the materials have been characterized, the optimum CMP removal thickness is readily calculated for a wide range of different circuit implementations.

Rule to determine CMP polish time

Vertical type structures for integrated circuit inductors are disclosed. These vertical type inductors include the single-loop type, the parallel-loop type and the screw type, which form three different embodiments in the present invention. In the first embodiment, three-dimensional type structures, a single-loop type is utilized as an integrated circuit inductor. This inductor structure is formed on a substrate and the axis of the structure is upright to the substrate. In another embodiment according to the present invention, a parallel-loop type structure for radio frequency (RF) integrated circuit inductor is provided. A screw type structure according to this invention is the third embodiment. It features an axis that is parallel to the surface of the substrate and threads into the semiconductor device.

Three-dimensional type inductor for mixed mode radio frequency device

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Hsin-Chu, Taiwan

Hway-Chi Lin