SHOrt Voltage Elevation (SHOVE) test

Abstract

A stress procedure for reliability screening, SHOrt Voltage Elevation (SHOVE) test, is analyzed here. During SHOVE, test vectors are run at higher-than-normal supply voltage for a short period. The IDDQ values of circuits-under-test are then measured at the normal voltage. This procedure is effective in screening oxide thinning, which occurs when the oxide thickness of a transistor is less than expected. Oxide thinning can cause early-life failures. The stress voltage of SHOVE testing should be set such that the electrical field across an oxide is approximately 6 MV/cm. The stress time can be calculated by using "effective oxide thinning" model. We will also discuss the requirement of an input vector for stressing a complementary CMOS logic gate efficiently.