Failure analysis using the infrared optical-beam-induced resistance-CHange (IR-OBIRCH) method : Technologies supporting semiconductor scientific manufacturing : Process monitoring, testing, failure analysis and reliability

We used the infrared optical-beam-induced resistance-change (IR-OBIRCH) method to detect and analyze failures in DRAMs and logic LSIs which failed during mass production, development, and use. When analyzing the logic LSIs, we sometimes applied test vectors by using automatic test equipment (ATE) docked to the IR-OBIRCH system so that failure states could be reproduced during IR-OBIRCH imaging. The results showed that the IR-OBIRCH method is effective for analyzing not only static failures but also functional failures.