A contactless technique for semiconductor wafer testing comprising: depositing charges on the top surface of an insulator layer over the wafer to create an inverted surface with a depletion region and thereby a field-induced junction therebelow in the wafer, with an accumulated guard ring on the semiconductor surface therearound The technique further includes the step of changing the depth to which the depletion region extends below the inverted semiconductor wafer surface to create a surface potential transient, and the step of measuring a parameter of the resultant surface potential transient This technique may be utilized to make time retention and epi doping concentration measurements It is especially advantageous for reducing the effects of surface leakage on these measurements In a preferred embodiment, corona discharges are used to effect the charge deposition configuration Either corona discharge or photon injection are used to change the depletion region depth

Contactless technique for semicondutor wafer testing

A method for measuring the thickness of very thin oxide layers on a silicon substrate. A corona discharge source repetitively deposits a calibrated fixed charge density on the surface of the oxide. The resultant change in oxide surface potential for each charge deposition is measured. By choosing a starting value for an assumed oxide thickness, the approximate change in silicon bandbending per corona discharge step is determined. The cumulative changes in bandbending versus oxide surface potential yields an experimental bandbending versus bias characteristic. A theoretical bandbending versus bias characteristic is established. The experimental and theoretical characteristics are matched at predetermined points thereof and then the assumed oxide thickness is iterated until both characteristics superimpose in the silicon accumulation region. The iterated oxide thickness that allows both characteristics to superimpose is the oxide thickness value being sought. The finally evolved experimental characteristic also is used to determine the interface states density of the oxide. Specially designed corona discharge guns are described for use with the oxide thickness and interface states density measurement techniques.

Contactless electrical thin oxide measurements

A method for measuring the thickness of very thin oxide layers on a silicon substrate. A corona discharge source repetitively deposits a calibrated fixed charge density on the surface of the oxide. The resultant change in oxide surface potential for each charge deposition is measured. By choosing a starting value for an assumed oxide thickness, the approximate change in silicon bandbending per corona discharge step is determined. The cumulative changes in bandbending versus oxide surface potential yields an experimental bandbending versus bias characteristic. A theoretical bandbending versus bias characteristic is established. The experimental and theoretical characteristics are matched at the predetermined points thereof and then the assumed oxide thickness is iterated until both characteristics superimpose in the silicon accumulation region. The iterated oxide thickness that allows both characteristics to superimpose is the oxide thickness value being sought. The finally evolved experimental characteristic also is used to determine the interface states density of the oxide. Specially designed corona discharge guns are described for use with the oxide thickness and interface states density measurement techniques.

Uniform density charge deposit source

The surface of a wafer is charged with corona passing through a screen. The screen is part of a feedback loop that forces a constant corona current. This results in the potential of the wafer surface following the potential of the screen. This allows contemporaneous measurement of the surface charge and potential that are used to measure mobile charge in an oxide layer on the wafer.

Method and apparatus for measurement of mobile charges with a corona screen gun

A method and apparatus comprises heating a wafer to a temperature sufficient to temperature stress the wafer and enable ion motion. The wafer is then initialized in a measurement region with a non-contact corona discharge of a first polarity until a first dielectric field is developed, wherein any mobile ions present in the dielectric layer or at an air/dielectric interface move to a substrate/dielectric interface. A non-contact pulsed corona discharge of a second polarity, opposite the first polarity, is then applied to the wafer until a second dielectric field is developed and an amount of corona discharge Q MEASURED necessary to change the dielectric field from the first dielectric field to the second dielectric field is measured, wherein any mobile ions present at the dielectric/substrate interface move to the air/dielectric interface. An ideal amount of corona discharge Q IDEAL , in the absence of any highly mobile ionic species, necessary to change the dielectric field voltage of a dielectric layer of known thickness from a third dielectric field to a fourth dielectric field is then established. Lastly, measured corona discharge Q MEASURED is compared to ideal corona discharge Q IDEAL , wherein a quantitative difference between Q.sub. MEASURED and Q IDEAL is indicative of the amount of mobile charge Q MOBILE , Q MOBILE being representative of the amount of mobile ionic species in the dielectric layer.

Contactless corona-oxide-semiconductor Q-V mobile charge measurement method and apparatus

A method for predicting certain electrical failures in a semiconductor device after long-term operation, includes the steps of measuring a predetermined parameter of the semiconductor device before and after it is exposed to a corona discharge and then comparing the two measurements.

Jiyon Robaato Suzedon

Papers

Corona charging for testing reliability of insulator-covered semiconductor devices