Infrastructure IP for back-end yield improvement

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to present an infrastructure IP (I-IP) designed to characterize yield loss in the process back-end. The I-IP structure is described in using a bottom-up approach with emphasis on its scalability. Using this infrastructure IP, the defect density tracking as well as the test and diagnosis of process back-end critical parameters can be quickly and easily performed. To reach this goal, the test flow and its related signature extraction is given. Thus, the use of this I-IP allows to improve the manufacturing process by diagnosing the back-end yield loss.