Single contact optical beam induced currents (SCOBIC)-technique and applications

Abstract

The single contact optical beam induced currents (SCOBIC) method is a new failure analysis technique. By connecting the substrate or power pins of an integrated circuit to the current amplifier, many junctions can be imaged. This is in contrast to the optical beam induced current (OBIC) technique, where only the junction directly connected to the current amplifier is imaged. The implementation of the SCOBIC approach is discussed and experimental results which validate the SCOBIC technique are presented. Application of the SCOBIC technique for CMOS front side and back side devices is also discussed.