Electron Beam Testing Technology

Although exploratory and developmental activity in electron beam testing (EBT) 25 years, it was not had already been in existence in research laboratories for over until the beginning of the 1980s that it was taken up seriously as a technique for integrated circuit (IC) testing. While ICs were being fabricated on design rules of several microns, the mechanical ne edle probe served quite adequately for internal chip probing. This scenario changed with growing device complexity and shrinking geometries, prompting IC manufacturers to take note ofthis new testing technology. It required several more years and considerable investment by electron beam tester manufacturers, however, to co me up with user-friendly automated systems that were acceptable to IC test engineers. These intervening years witnessed intense activity in the development of instrumentation, testing techniques, and system automation, as evidenced by the proliferation of technical papers presented at conferences. With the shift of interest toward applications, the technology may now be considered as having come of age. Front Matter....Pages i-xvi Background to Electron Beam Testing Technology....Pages 1-9 Front Matter....Pages 11-11 Introduction....Pages 13-34 Principles and Applications....Pages 35-125 Front Matter....Pages 127-127 Essential Electron Optics....Pages 129-173 Electron Beam Interaction with Specimen....Pages 175-209 Electron Spectrometers and Voltage Measurements....Pages 211-239 High-Speed Techniques....Pages 241-287 Picosecond Photoemission Probing....Pages 289-313 Signal and Image Processing....Pages 315-358 Front Matter....Pages 359-359 System Integration....Pages 361-395 Practical Considerations in Electron Beam Testing....Pages 397-415 Industrial Case Studies....Pages 417-444 Back Matter....Pages 445-462 Background to Electron Beam Testing Technology I 1. Introduction 2. Principles and Applications II 3. Essential Electron Optics 4. Electron Beam Interaction with Specimen 5. Electron Spectrometers and Voltage Measurements 6. High-Speed Techniques 7. Picosecond Photoemission Probing 8. Signal and Image Processing III 9. System Integration 10. Practical Considerations in Electron Beam Testing 11. Industrial Case Studies. This is the first comprehensive volume on electron beam testing for integrated circuits. Including introductory material, a guide to fundamentals, and an implementational section, the work will serve as a complete reference for both experienced practitioners as well as those unfamiliar with the technology.