New Semiconductor Characterization Software Provides Simultaneous High Frequency and Quasistatic C-V Measurements.Business Editors and High Tech Writers CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 2001 Keithley Instruments Keithley Instruments (NYSE: KEI) is a measurement and instrument company headquartered in Solon, Ohio. Keithley develops, manufactures, markets and sells highly accurate instruments and data acquisition products, as well as complete system solutions for high-volume production , Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :KEI) today announced the introduction of capacitance capacitance, in electricity, capability of a body, system, circuit, or device for storing electric charge. Capacitance is expressed as the ratio of stored charge in coulombs to the impressed potential difference in volts. characterization software for its Model 4200-SCS Semiconductor Characterization System. The new capacitance characterization capabilities allow users to conduct simultaneous high frequency (HF) and quasistatic (QS) C-V C-V Capacitance-Voltage C-V Schedule V Controlled Substance (USA) measurements on wafer devices with a single voltage sweep, using Keithley's Model 82 Simultaneous C-V instrumentation. This technique, which is unique to Keithley, improves C-V measurement accuracy by reducing the voltage stress on the devices under test and eliminating the need for the use of theoretical curves and doping doping, in electronics: see semiconductor. Altering the electrical conductivity of a semiconductor material, such as silicon, by chemically combining it with foreign elements. profile assumptions. Simultaneous C-V requires only half the sweep time of sequential HF/QS measurements, so it also increases test productivity. The new characterization capabilities and the Model 4200-SCS support Keithley Model 590 and Model 595 C-V meters, as well as meters from other manufacturers. The Model 4200-SCS has the added advantage of being the only parameter analyzer available that also provides built-in prober control. When combined with the features of the Model 4200-SCS, the new simultaneous C-V measurement capabilities offer device designers and process engineers many more tools than any other semiconductor characterization package available. Applications and Markets The Model 4200-SCS and its associated software are widely used by semiconductor manufacturers to assure the reliability of product designs and processes by measuring critical device characteristics during development and production. The new simultaneous C-V measurement capability adds another dimension to the testing options available with the Model 4200-SCS, providing more information in a shorter period than any other semiconductor characterization system. This C-V measurement technique is particularly valuable when assessing the ultra-thin (down to 30 Angstroms) gate dielectrics A gate dielectric is a dielectric used between the gate and substrate of a field effect transistor. In state-of-the-art processes, the gate dielectric is subject to many constraints, including: Application Background While semiconductor speeds have risen and device dimensions have shrunk, gate oxide thickness has been continuously reduced. The high electric fields that are developed across these materials make the quality and characteristics of gate insulation more critical than ever to ensuring device performance and reliability. Therefore, accurate device characterization is crucial throughout development and production. C-V characterization is the most widely accepted test method for this purpose. Typically, C-V testing is performed at two different frequencies--one test at a high frequency (either 100kHz or 1MHz (MegaHertZ) One million cycles per second. It is used to measure the transmission speed of electronic devices, including channels, buses and the computer's internal clock. A one-megahertz clock (1 MHz) means some number of bits (16, 32, 64, etc. ), the other at a low frequency (typically less than 10Hz). Low frequency tests are often referred to as quasistatic C-V. In the past, these two tests were performed sequentially, which often introduced measurement error due to the doping profile assumptions, calculations, and theoretical curve matching involved. These errors tended to be more significant for thinner gate oxides, where high accuracy is most critical. Moreover, the industry is now looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. new, high-k materials that will allow even thinner gate insulation layers. These gate structures are often stacked with several layers of different dielectrics, which makes calculating characteristics very difficult, if not impossible. Simultaneous C-V is the most practical way to measure ultra-thin gate dielectric characteristics empirically and extract critical device parameters. These parameters include dielectric dielectric (dī'ĭlĕk`trĭk), material that does not conduct electricity readily, i.e., an insulator (see insulation). A good dielectric should also have other properties: It must resist breakdown under high voltages; it should not capacitance and thickness, surface potential, dielectric field strength, and threshold voltage The threshold voltage of a MOSFET is usually defined as the gate voltage where a depletion region forms in the substrate (body) of the transistor. In an NMOS the substrate of the transistor is composed of p-type silicon which has more positively charged electron holes compared to . In addition, simultaneous C-V allows determining charges in the dielectric, such as interface trapped charge, mobile charge, and effective charge--all of which are important in assessing device reliability. Product Details The new characterization capabilities are provided as a collection of instrument drivers and test libraries that extend the Keithley Test Environment (KTE KTE Knowledge Translation and Exchange KTE Knowledge Transfer & Exchange KTE Keep the Excuses (gaming) KTE Knuckles the Echidna (comic) KTE Key Translation Element ) Interactive test tools included with the Model 4200-SCS. The Model 4200-SCS's familiar Microsoft Windows See Windows. (operating system) Microsoft Windows - Microsoft's proprietary window system and user interface software released in 1985 to run on top of MS-DOS. Widely criticised for being too slow (hence "Windoze", "Microsloth Windows") on the machines available then. (R) interface and the new add-on capabilities make it easy to perform simultaneous C-V measurements and extract critical device parameters without programming. The new software interfaces with the Keithley Configuration Utility (KCON KCON Contents Key ) included in Version 4.2 of KTE Interactive. KCON and the new instrument drivers minimize hardware and software integration problems by providing an easy way to configure external C-V instruments, such as Keithley's Model 590 (HF) C-V Analyzer and Model 595 (QS) C-V Meter. After the user configures the GPIB (General Purpose Interface Bus) An IEEE 488 standard parallel interface used for attaching sensors and programmable instruments to a computer. Using a 24-pin connector, up to 15 devices can be daisy chained together. HP's version is the HPIB. addresses for the external C-V instruments, the test libraries supplied are ready to run on the Model 4200-SCS. The software leads the user step-by-step through the process of generating new test configurations for simultaneous C-V measurements, such as C-V vs. Vgs, non-equilibrium current Q/t vs. Vgs, and the many others contained in the test libraries. Next, with a click of the mouse, the system runs the entire user-defined test sequence automatically. The Model 4200-SCS's built-in data reduction routines make it easy to display, graph, and analyze measurement data. Data can be tabulated automatically using the system's spreadsheet functions, while plotting tools simplify displaying device parameters graphically. Furthermore, powerful analysis tools allow displaying and analyzing curves interactively using multiple windows. Data can be saved in either ASCII ASCII or American Standard Code for Information Interchange, a set of codes used to represent letters, numbers, a few symbols, and control characters. Originally designed for teletype operations, it has found wide application in computers. or binary format (1) Numbers stored in pure binary form in contrast with BCD form. See binary numbers. (2) Information stored in a binary coded form, such as data, text, images, voice and video. See binary file, binary field and LOB. . It's easy to cut and paste To move an object from one location to another. When the operation is complete, there is nothing left in the original location. It may refer to relocating files from one folder to another or to relocating selected text or images from one document to another. data from the Model 4200-SCS into the user's favorite Windows-based software for customized analysis. Price and Availability Keithley's simultaneous C-V instrument drivers and test libraries will be available with KTE Interactive v4.2 Service Pack 1, planned for release in September. The software is free for registered users of the Model 4200-SCS with KTE Interactive v4.2. For More Information For more information on Keithley's simultaneous C-V support for the Model 4200-SCS software or any of Keithley's parametric test solutions, contact us at:
Telephone: 888-KEITHLEY
(888-534-8453)
440-248-0400
FAX: 440-248-6168
E-mail: product_info@keithley.com
Internet: www.keithley.com
Address: Keithley Instruments, Inc.
28775 Aurora Road
Cleveland, OH 44139-1891
About Keithley Instruments Keithley Instruments, Inc. provides electrical measurement solutions to the telecommunications, semiconductor, optoelectronics and other electronic components industries. Engineers and scientists around the world use Keithley's advanced hardware and software for process monitoring, production test and basic research. Products and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. |
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