A poly to active region VLSI mask alignment test structure

Abstract

Present day CMOS technologies require continuous evaluation of the technology in terms of optimizing the design rules. Electrical monitoring of mask alignment is one such evaluation tool. A VLSI test structure for monitoring the poly to active region mask misalignment is presented. The structure is designed based on 2-micron scalable CMOS (SCMOS) design rules. The issues related to sensitivity of the measurement, and some critical design considerations are discussed.<>