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:
Nov. 21, 2006
Filed:
Mar. 25, 2005
Junichi Suzuki, Kanagawa, JP;
Kohji Kanamori, Kanagawa, JP;
Junichi Suzuki, Kanagawa, JP;
Kohji Kanamori, Kanagawa, JP;
NEC Electronics Corporation, Kanagawa, JP;
Abstract
An apparatus for testing a defect, includes a semiconductor element. In the semiconductor element, a conductive film is formed on an STI (shallow trench isolation) insulating film, which fills a shallow trench extending into a semiconductor region, opposing said semiconductor region through an insulating film in an ordinary state, and the shallow trench is not completely or sufficiently filled with the STI insulating film in a defective state. Also, the apparatus includes a control circuit configured to set a test mode in response to a test mode designation signal, a first voltage applying circuit configured to output a first voltage to the conductive film in the test mode, and a second voltage applying circuit configured to output a second voltage to the semiconductor region in the test mode. The first voltage is higher than the second voltage, and a voltage difference between the first voltage and the second voltage is sufficient to cause breakdown between the conductive film and the semiconductor region in the defective state.