Measurement Tools and Test Structures

This section provides a brief summary of the instruments, data acquisition processes, and test vehicles now used for studying dielectric breakdown. The range of instruments includes both bench-top and large throughput systems. Bench-top systems are conventionally used to gather information about fundamental material and device properties, while large throughput systems provide significant advantages for gathering statistically meaningful data on device properties and performance and on production capabilities. Test structures described in this section include simple planar capacitors, comb–comb, comb–serpentine, and new p-cap devices. The inherent design of each test structure will be shown to be appropriate for understanding certain fundamental aspects of dielectric failure.