Laser Deprocessing Technique and its Application to Physical Failure Analysis

Abstract

This paper is an extension of work originally presented in IPFA 2019. In the original work, a new memory bit-counting method in physical failure analysis (PFA) using laser deprocessing technique (LDT) is introduced. In the present paper, LDT will be further exploited and the methodology applied to PFA will be fully discussed. Compared to the conventional methods that involve high-cost equipment such as focused ion beam (FIB) and reactive ion etcher (RIE), the novel LDT method using a laser system instead lowers the cost by more than 5 times and shortens the failure analysis (FA) cycle time by up to 45%. The new improved methodology can significantly increase PFA throughput especially in semiconductor foundries, and facilitate more applications in other types of FA labs.