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. 16, 2003
Filed:
Jan. 08, 2001
Agere Systems Inc., Allentown, PA (US);
Abstract
A non-contact method for determining a quality of a semiconductor dielectric. The method includes depositing a charge on a dielectric to achieve a high voltage on the dielectric, measuring a voltage drop of the dielectric as a function of time, and determining a soft breakdown voltage of the dielectric from the voltage drop as a function of time. The amount of charge that is deposited may vary. For example, the charge may be deposited until a voltage that ranges from about 4 megavolts to about 16 megavolts is achieved on the dielectric. The amount of charge may also depend on the thickness of the dielectric. For example, applying a charge as a function of the thickness may include applying 4 megavolts when the thickness is about 1.2 nm or applying 16 megavolts when the thickness is about 5.0 nm.