RF Wafer Testing:— An Acute Need, and Now Practical

摘要

Leading semiconductor producers have recently conceded that wafer level RF measurements are acutely needed to develop and produce advanced ICs. To a certain degree, this flies in the face of the 2003 recommendations by the ITRS Technical Working Group for Modeling and Simulation, which states, "The parameter extraction for RF compact models preferably tries to minimize RF measurements. Parameters should be extracted from standard Ⅰ-Ⅴ and C-V measurements with supporting simulations, if needed." The problem is that standard Ⅰ-Ⅴ and C-V measurements make the direct extraction of C_(OX) impossible for ultra-thin dielectrics due to high leakage currents and non-linearities. Yet, accurate parameter extraction for HF circuit modeling at 1-40 GHz and for RF compact model verification has become essential. This challenge is increasing for high-performance/low-cost digital, RF, and analog/mixed-signal devices as the industry progresses toward the 65nm node and beyond.