Using fast hot-carrier aging method for measuring plasma charging damage

摘要

The invention relates to the measurement and monitoring of plasma-damage, and to the evaluation of the lifetime of integrated circuits under nominal operating conditions. The method calculates the intrinsic, or damage-free, lifetime of a particular transistor device by measuring the change in transconductance as a function of time for a given device over a short period of time. The change in the transconductance as a function of time, i.e., the slope of the degradation curve, is measured and then compared to a reference value. The present invention thus allows the use of hot-carrier stress method to determine plasma damage in a time efficient manner without the need of applying high acceleration voltages.