Backside Circuit Edit on Full-Thickness Silicon Devices

Most CE activities are performed with Focused Ion Beam (FIB) tools, which have evolved considerably over the years to meet the needs of the CE market. One of the most significant technique developments that has pushed the evolution of FIB hardware is the advent of backside CE techniques, [1,2,3] in which the FIB operator accesses the critical circuitry through the backside (substrate side) of the IC device. This approach is the overwhelming preference for processor manufacturers in particular, due to the unique constraints of these devices. For example, FlipChip and BGA style packages naturally lend themselves to a backside approach. Additionally, these devices tend to have extremely dense circuitry and an abundance of “dummy” metallization structures that impede frontside access.