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:
Oct. 15, 2002
Filed:
Jan. 05, 2001
Abdullah Mohamad Yassine, Austin, TX (US);
Kola Olasupo, Austin, TX (US);
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA (US);
Abstract
Semiconductor device analysis is improved through the distinguishing of gate oxide failures from other non-oxide failures. According to an example embodiment of the present invention, oxide failures are distinguished from non-oxide shorts between a gate and source/drain region in a semiconductor device during gate oxide analysis. An electrical characteristic that exhibits a first response to an oxide failure and a second response to a non-oxide failure is detected and used to detect the nature of a short in the device. This analysis is easily incorporated into other tests, such as the Voltage Ramp Dielectric Breakdown test (VRDB), and is particularly useful for improving the ability to detect and analyze defects without necessarily viewing the defect or destroying the device.