NIST staff develops methods for accurately characterizing on-wafer waveforms. (News Briefs).Due to advances in integrated circut (IC) design, digital design engineers now need the ability to accurately measure electrical waveforms in high-speed digital integrated circuits Integrated circuits Miniature electronic circuits produced within and upon a single semiconductor crystal, usually silicon. Integrated circuits range in complexity from simple logic circuits and amplifiers, about 1/20 in. (1. . Unlike the larger ICs of the past, modern digital ICs are so fast, highly integrated, and sensitive to loading that no good strategy exists for waveform The shape of a signal. See wavelength, sine wave and square wave. measurement on the IC. Working in response to this need, NIST (National Institute of Standards & Technology, Washington, DC, www.nist.gov) The standards-defining agency of the U.S. government, formerly the National Bureau of Standards. It is one of three agencies that fall under the Technology Administration (www.technology. researchers developed frequency-domain mismatch mismatch 1. in blood transfusions and transplantation immunology, an incompatibility between potential donor and recipient. 2. one or more nucleotides in one of the double strands in a nucleic acid molecule without complementary nucleotides in the same position on the other corrections for non-invasive on-wafer waveform measurements. Conventional microwave two-tier characterization procedures fail for the non-invasive probes of interest to the digital industry. They not only developed an alternative microwave calibration calibration /cal·i·bra·tion/ (kal?i-bra´shun) determination of the accuracy of an instrument, usually by measurement of its variation from a standard, to ascertain necessary correction factors. capable of characterizing non-invasive probes, but they developed procedures for correcting waveform measurements performed with the probes to 40 GHz, adequate to characterize all but the most demanding digital circuits. While implementing the method is complex, the measurement apparatus required for the measurements is composed entirely of commercially available equipment, making the method suitable for advanced industrial laboratories. The group is working on methods for simplifying the calibrations for use in less well-equipped laboratories. This is the first high-frequency electrical calibration suitable for correcting waveform measurements performed with non-invasive probes designed to allow the circuits to continue to function at the normal operating speed The operating speed of a road is the speed at which motor vehicles generally operate on that road. The precise definition of "operating speed", however, is open to debate. during electrical test. CONTACT: Dylan Williams, (303) 497-3138; dylan@boulder.nist.gov or Pavel Kabos, (303) 497-3997; kabos@boulder.nist.gov. |
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