Advanced Micro Devices Corporation

Jerry Tsiang

Ying Shiau

Yeng-Kaung Peng

Mikkel Lantz

A method for monitoring silicide failures in the semiconductor process provides P-channel gate oxide capacitors on a semiconductor wafer. The breakdown voltages of the P-channel oxide gate capacitors are measured. With higher rapid thermal anneal (RTA) temperatures, an increased number of short failures occur in the P-channel gate oxide capacitors. Based on a correlation of the P-channel gate oxide capacitor failures and the RTA temperatures, the optimum RTA temperature for the silicide process is determined.

Method for monitoring silicide failures

Methods and apparatus are disclosed for testing integrated circuits at the wafer level and for integrating test results, calculation of lifetimes and generation of trend charts in a common database following testing. A wafer tester controller is supplemented with additional hardware and software to avoid data transfer errors and facilitate processing and storage of test results. The data base is available over a network to all areas of an organization.

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Cupertino, CA, United States of America

Jerry Tsiang