The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 21, 1999
Filed:
Jun. 04, 1996
Nguyen D Bui, San Jose, CA (US);
Chenming Hu, Alamo, CA (US);
Donggun Park, Albany, CA (US);
Scott Zheng, Sonoma, CA (US);
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Abstract
A method for detecting damage in a plurality of transistors includes measuring at least one characteristic of the plurality of transistors, applying a constant voltage of a predetermined voltage level for a predetermined period of time, and re-measuring the at least one characteristic of the plurality of transistors, wherein a change in the at least one characteristic indicates damage to the plurality of transistors. In one aspect, the predetermined voltage level is about 9 MV/cm, and the predetermined period of time is about 1 second. In a further aspect, measuring at least one characteristic includes measuring threshold voltage, and the change in the at least one characteristic includes a shift in the threshold voltage. In another embodiment, a method for monitoring damage in unprotected plurality of transistors during wafer fabrication includes performing a test sequence including applying a constant voltage of a predetermined voltage level for a predetermined period of time, and utilizing the test sequence in-line with the wafer fabrication. In addition, detecting damage further includes programmably controlling the steps of performing and utilizing during wafer fabrication, wherein programmably controlling is performed with a computer system.