Debug of IC-card chips assisted by FIB and in-situ mechanical microprobing

The value of mechanical micro-probes and FIB in IC design-debug is well understood. As device dimensions shrink, navigating micro-probes within a light microscope is almost impossible. SEM or FIB, which have higher resolution as well as greater depth of focus, overcome this limitation. FIB is, also, preferred for DUT probe-point creation because its higher milling resolution capability can provide better access to lower level metallizations. IC-card chips present an unique challenge; the backside of these are often insulated so grounding must occur on the exposed front-side. Further, because these IC-card chips are small, very careful setups are required before undertaking FIB modifications. Micro-probes within the FIB chamber solved this problem. Three micro-probes were used to stimulate the chip (input-clock, ground and power) with a fourth probe used to measure output nodes. Requested FIB modifications, including rewiring of poly-silicon traces, were completed. Contacting poly-silicon requires FIB-assisted XeF2 etching through the inter-level dielectric and both fast termination and removal of XeF2 from the chamber upon poly-silicon exposure. The technique for exposing poly-silicon is described in detail. The synergy of mechanical micro-probes within the FIB chamber benefited both techniques in the design-debug task. We summarize various IC-card packaging styles and requirements to ground, micro-probe, and establish a debug platform.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.