[ Lab Facilities ]

Electromigration Reliability Tester <back to top>

The SPC8010 Electromigration Reliability Tester is a high temperature (350 °C), compact and small volume test system. It allows you to test, gather data, analyze data and generate reports to assure the integrity of your process. The system is a very reliable and stable test system available for package level electro migration (EM) and time dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB) testing. All measurement elements are included as integral components.

High Performance EM system <back to top>

The XACT-810 test system is a high performance electromigration system for evaluating the quality and reliability of all types of interconnects in semiconductor products under temperature and current stress. This system is an in-situ test system, where the resistance change is monitored continously with a high measurement resolution.

Micromanipulator Probe Station <back to top>

The 4060 Micromanipulator probe station is a highly configurable setup for conducting a wide variety of electrical measurements.
Equipped with 8 triaxial probes, this probe station is capable of achieving accurate and low-noise measurements for characterizing the electrical properties of nano and sub-micron scale devices. Reliability testing of devices at the wafer level can also be conducted using this probe station, which has an integrated thermal system.

Application:
Nanotechnology, Reliability Testing, Electrical Characterization of
Advanced Materials & Devices, Low Noise Current & Voltage Sourcing,
High Resolution Current, Voltage & Capacitance Measurement.

Specification:
Current Source : ±100 fA to ±1 A
Voltage Source : 0 V to ±200 V
fF Measurement Resolution : 1 fA, 1 nV & 5
Standard & Arbitrary Waveform Current Sourcing : up to 100 kHz
Heat control Module : up to 400ºC
Function Generator : up to 20 MHz
Oscilloscope : up to 500 MHz
Light & Electromagnetic Field Shielding

Measurement & Test Devices use:
Agilent 4156 Precision Semiconductor Parameter Amplifier
HP54615B Oscilloscope
Keithley 6221 DC/AC Current Source Meter
Keithley 2400 Source Meter
Keithley Nano Voltmeter
HP 34401 Multimeter

4 Point Bend Tester <back to top>

The Four Point Bend Tester is a customized-built equipment that is incorporated with a 50 lbf force transducer (actuator), a load cell and a test frame as shown in the schematic below. The tester provides capability for testing of the material properties of the adhesive use for bonding in microelectronics. Hence, the method is preferred for studies on the adhesion strength of thin films in semiconductor devices. In the schematic, the sample is placed between the four load pins and the actuator is programmed by the DTS, Delaminator Mechanical Test Software to ramp up the displacement. The force P, from the load at plateau is obtained in order to calculate the interface fracture energy, G_c. The actuator can be programmed to ramp up to a maximum load of 200 N.

Focused Ion Beam (FIB) system <back to top>

The FEI Novaetch ^TM Nanolab DualBeam^TM 600i combines ultra-high resolution field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and precise focused ion beam (FIB) and deposition, which becomes a powerful tool for micro-machining, to modify or machine materials at micro- and nanoscale.

FIB applications include:
> Cross-sectional imaging through semiconductor devices (or any layered structure)
> Modification of the electrical routing on semiconductor devices
> Failure analysis
> Preparation for physical chemistry analysis
> Preparation of samples for transmission electron microscopy (TEM)
> Micro-machining
> Mask repair
> Non-semiconductor applications

FEI Nova^TM Nanolab DualBeam^TM 600i
E-beam
- Voltage: 200 V to 30 kV, continuously adjustable
- Beam Current: < 20 Na
- Resolution: 1.1 nm @ 15 kV, 2.5 nm @ 1 kV
- Detection: in-lens SE and BSE

Ion-beam
- Voltage: 500 V to 30 kV
- Beam Current: 20 nA in 15 steps
- Resolution: 7.0 nm @ 30 kV, 5 nm achievable

Gas Injection System (GIS)
- Platinum Deposition
- Tungsten Deposition
- Insulator Deposition
- Insulator Enhanced Etch

EDAX EDS Detectors
- 10 mm2 2nd power SiLi detector with a resolution of 129 eV (as measured using the Mn K peak at full width half maximum (FWHM)).
Omniprobe In-situ TEM sample lift-out tool
- In-situ manipulation and motion tools for TEM sample preparation.

Electrical Feedthrough
- 52 pins electrical feedthrough port allow wire connection between the sample inside the chamber and the outside multimeters under high vacuum

X-Ray Inspection <back to top>

The X-ray Inspection System is used in the field of non-destructive testing (NDT) for observing and inspecting internal structures and mounting conditions of modules, sensors, metal castings, plastics, ceramics and materials alike. The X-ray inspection system can also be used as a process control and failure analysis tool to inspect components for the packaging integrity (bonding, wire opens, wire sweep, die attach etc.); solder joint quality of components assembled on printed circuit boards or PCBs (especially Ball Grid Arrays or BGAs and flip-chips for the presence of voids or cracks).

The high resolution and high magnification system provides a fast manipulation to the area of interest for quick, distortion-free and clear inspection, with the mouse-operated control software "XEVOLUTION". Besides, teaching and step feed functions are available, which enables repeatable inspections to be possible.

Several measurements can be performed with the x-ray inspection system: BGA void measurement, area ratio measurement, dimension measurement, object measurement and wire sweep ratio measurement.

Shimadzu Micro-Focus X-Ray Fluoroscopic Inspection System SMX-2000EX

Reactive Ion Etcher (RIE) <back to top>

The reactive ion etcher is a dry etching system utilising etching gases such as CF₄, O₂, or SF₆ that provides the plasma for material removal by chemical (free radicals) and physical (reactive ions) etching. The system is suitable for removing passivation layers such as Si₃N₄ and dielectric materials such as SiO₂ and phosphosilicate glass (PSG) of multi-layered integrated circuits (ICs). Isotropic and anisotropic etching programs can be set as desired.

ES371 Reactive Ion Etching (RIE) System

Auto Decapsulation System <back to top>

The auto or chemical decapsulation is a technique used in failure analysis to expose the die and bond wires inside a microelectronic package. This method is suitable if the cause of failure is physical and can be found on the die or elsewhere inside the package.

A package is glued (with its front side facing down) onto a suitable rubber gasket. Rubber gaskets of various sizes for different package and die sizes are available. The glued package and rubber gasket are then placed onto a sample adapter or sample guide for accurate positioning of the area to be exposed. The jet of acid will rise from the reservoir through the opening of the rubber gasket to reach the package. Fuming nitric acid, fuming sulphuric acid or a mixture of both, is usually used to remove the mold compound of the package to expose the die and the bond wiresthe . The acid can be heated to a high temperature without excessively heating the device. In addition, time to decapsulate can be controlled by the temperature, volume and flow rate of the acid.

PS102W Plastic Mold Decapsulation System

Grinder/Polisher <back to top>

The grinder/polisher is useful for obtaining a metallographic cross-section to determine the layer structure of a semiconductor device, for example. Metallographic cross-sections can be observed under the optical or electron microscopes, for fault analysis. The grinder/polisher can be used with grinding cloths with particle sizes ranging from 5 – 269 µm and premium polishing cloths with particle size ranging from 0.02 – 15 µm. Polishing is becoming increasingly useful in physical failure analysis or physical deprocessing, when wet etching and plasma etching are inadequate.

Buehler Beta Twin Series Variable Speed Grinder-Polisher with Vector Power Head

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