TRADE NEWS: Agilent Technologies Introduces Two DC/RF/Pulse Parametric Testers.

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- Agilent 4075 and 4076 Testers Meet Production Parametric Measurement Challenges of Current 65-nm and Future Sub-65-nm Devices, and Eliminate Thermal Effects

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) today introduced the Agilent 4075 and 4076 DC/RF/Pulse Parametric Testers used for characterizing devices fabricated with advanced process technology such as 65 nm technology nodes. The Agilent 4075 and 4076 enable semiconductor test engineers to measure both RF and DC characteristics in order to meet today's ever-shrinking and diversified semiconductor devices, such as ultra-thin gate oxide transistors, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) transistors and high dielectric constant (high-k) devices from 65 nm and beyond.

Decreasing feature size and increasing device speed are driving the need for new parametric test capabilities during production that were previously necessary only in the lab. The Agilent 4075 and 4076 offer the flexibility needed to accurately characterize new device structures such as ultra-thin gate oxide MOSFETs (metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors) or high-speed semiconductor devices used in communications applications. Through their advanced design, the Agilent 4075 and 4076 support the short, 10-ns pulsed IV measurements needed for extremely thermally or charge-sensitive devices such as SOI transistors or high-k transistors used in high-speed logic applications. In addition, the Agilent 4076 supports ultra-low current measurement capability down to 1fA.

"The Agilent 4075 and 4076 enable our customers to perform efficient characterization of advanced devices fabricated with 65 nm process technologies, thereby accelerating device development and yield improvement," said Minoru Ebihara, vice president and general manager of Agilent's Hachioji Semiconductor Test Division. "With their ultra-short-pulsed measurement capability, these systems help correctly characterize thermally sensitive devices."

As with the entire 4070 Series, the Agilent 4075 and 4076 support 300 mm SECS/GEM automation protocols, which have been proven in production lines worldwide. SECS/GEM is the semiconductor industry's standard for ensuring that manufacturing equipment shares a consistent interface and behavior.

Modern ultra-thin gate MOSFETs are susceptible to electron tunneling. To characterize their capacitance versus voltage (CV) behavior, measurement frequencies need to be greater than several megahertz. However, there are trade-offs between high-frequency CV (HFCV) and radio-frequency CV (RFCV) measurement techniques necessary to achieve this. The Agilent 4075 and 4076 support both HFCV (4294A) and RFCV (ENA) instrumentation, enabling users to choose the best method to fit their process technology and production test needs.

Both the Agilent 4075 and 4076 integrate a high-speed capacitance measurement unit (CMU) into the test head. This capability enables extremely fast capacitance measurements in the 1 kHz to 2 MHz frequency range for inter/intralayer oxide, resulting in improved throughput and a lower cost of test.

Communication and high-speed logic applications require in-depth characterization of high-speed semiconductor device performance. Both the Agilent 4075 and 4076 support RF S-parameter measurements using a PNA. The ENA and PNA used for the RFCV and RF S-parameter measurements give the Agilent 4075 and 4076 many advantages, including faster test speed and improved reliability relative to other widely used VNAs.

Recent advanced technology, such as SOI or high-k, requires ultra-short pulse measurement capability to prevent harmful thermal or charge-sensitive effects. However, the pulsed measurement capability of production test systems has been limited to the microsecond range. The Agilent 4075 provides ultra-short-pulsed IV measurements down to 10 nanoseconds, which enables characterization of highly thermally or charge-sensitive devices such as SOIs or high-k transistors.

The Agilent 4076 also offers laboratory test capabilities for production test. Advanced processes often require precision measurement in production of parameters such as MOSFET sub-threshold leakage currents and copper (Cu) metal Van der Paw resistance. These types of measurements require extremely precise current and voltage measurement resolution, which until now have been available only in the laboratory.

Any of the RF, HFCV and ultra-short-pulsed IV measurement capability of the Agilent 4075 and 4076 can be utilized throughout the newly designed direct-docking interface. Direct docking enables users to easily access and change probe cards with an automatic probe-card change mechanism. The direct docking interface provides up to eight ports for RF, HFCV and pulsed IV without sacrificing a DC port. The RF, HFCV and pulsed IV measurement capability is supported by user-friendly software such as measurement libraries and a calibration tool with a graphical user interface.

More information about Agilent's semiconductor test products is available at www.agilent.com/see/atenews.

About the Agilent 4070 Series

The Agilent 4070 Series offers the widest range of solutions and price-performance points of any production parametric test systems available today. The full breadth of the 4070 Series, 4072A/B, 4073A/B, 4075 and 4076 provides the DC and RF measurement capabilities to test the 65 nm process technologies of today, as well as the sub-65 nm process technologies of tomorrow. More information is available at www.agilent.com/see/parametric.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:A) is a global technology leader in communications, electronics, life sciences and chemical analysis. The company's 28,000 employees serve customers in more than 110 countries. Agilent had net revenue of $7.2 billion in fiscal year 2004. Information about Agilent is available on the Web at www.agilent.com.

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