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:
Jul. 24, 2001
Filed:
Mar. 26, 1999
Mark Michael Nelson, Pocatello, ID (US);
Subhash Madhukar Deshmukh, Pocatello, ID (US);
American Microsystems, Inc., Pocatello, ID (US);
Abstract
Characterization of plasma-induced damage in semiconductor manufacturing has long been considered unimportant because the damage had no discernible effect on circuit performance. With increasing transistor counts on an integrated circuit, the damage-induced parasitics are becoming increasingly important. Electrical characterization of such effects provides a far more sensitive method for determining the extent of damage and the effectiveness of efforts to repair the damage. A measurement of diode leakage current through a plasma-etch effect test diode which is formed completely within an active device region, removed from field oxide regions quantifies the extent of damage created by a plasma and the effectiveness of a repair technique that may be applied to the process.