International Business Machines Corporation

Globalfoundries Inc.

Luke D Lacroix

David Brian Stone

Janak G Patel

Peter Slota, Jr

Mark C H Lamorey

Steven Frederick Oakland

Kerry Paul Pfarr

Evan G Colgan

Mark C Lamorey

Leo A Noel

Detection circuits, methods of use and manufacture and design structures are provided herein. The structure includes at least one signal line traversing one or more metal layers of an integrated circuit. Circuitry is coupled to the at least one signal line, which is structured to receive a signal with a known signal from the at least one signal line or a signal from a different potential and, based on which signal is received, determine whether there is a structural defect in the integrated circuit.

Circuit for detecting structural defects in an integrated circuit chip, methods of use and manufacture and design structures

Methods and structures are provided for packaging identically processed chips in a stacked structure. A latch chain includes a first latch chain, having a single or multiple latches, associated with a first chip. The first latch chain is structured to read data information from the first chip. The latch chain includes a second latch chain, having a single or multiple latches, associated with a second chip. The second latch chain is structured to read data information from the second chip. The first latch chain and the second latch chain are connected to one another such that form a single latch chain that crosses chip boundaries. The first latch chain and the second latch chain are structured to provide identification information for identifying the first chip and the second chip, respectively.

Packaging identical chips in a stacked structure

An integrated circuit structure includes a plurality of insulator layers (connected to each other) that form a laminated structure. Further included are via openings within each of the insulator layers, and conductive via material within the via openings. The conductive via material within corresponding via openings of adjacent insulator layers are electrically connected to form continuous electrical via paths through the insulator layers between the top surface and the bottom surface of the laminated structure. Within each of the continuous electrical via paths, the via openings are positioned relative to each other to form a diagonal structural path of the conductive via material through the laminated structure. The corresponding via openings of the adjacent insulator layers partially overlap each other. The diagonal structural paths are non-perpendicular to the top surface and the bottom surface.

Elongated via structures

A structure and method for monitoring interlevel dielectric stress damage. The structure includes a monitor solder bump and normal solder bumps; a set of stacked interlevel dielectric layers between the substrate and the monitor solder bump and the normal solder bumps, one or more ultra-low K dielectric layers comprising an ultra-low K material having a dielectric constant of 2.4 or less; a monitor structure in a region directly under the monitor solder bump in the ultra-low K dielectric layers and wherein the conductor density in at least one ultra-low K dielectric layer in the region directly under the monitor solder bumps is less than a specified minimum density and the conductor density in corresponding regions of the ultra-low K dielectric layers directly under normal solder bumps is greater than the specified minimum density.

Structure for monitoring stress induced failures in interlevel dielectric layers of solder bump integrated circuits

A semiconductor test device including a plurality of conductive layers, each of the layers comprising integrated circuit devices, a plurality of insulating layers between the conductive layers, a plurality of heat generating structures positioned between the insulating layers and the conductive layers, each of the heat generating structures being sized and positioned to only heat a predetermined limited area of the plurality of layers, a plurality of thermal monitors positioned within each of the plurality of layers, a control unit operatively connected to the heat generating structures and the thermal monitors, the control unit individually cycling the heat generating structures on and off for multiple heat cycles, such that different areas of the layers are treated to different heat cycles.

Semiconductor test chip device to mimic field thermal mini-cycles to assess reliability

A method for testing high I/O chips on low I/O testers is provided. Chips having programmable I/Os are used with an interface board that shorts groups of I/Os to a single tester channel. Patterns are provided to the chip to enable one I/O of each group at a time, thereby allowing all I/Os in each group to be tested sequentially. Thus, a multiplexing function is divided between the chip itself and the interface board.

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Williston, VT, United States of America

Luke D Lacroix