FIB Services for Failure Analysts and Product Test Engineers
Electrical Micro-Probing – also to FIB deposited pads connected to buried nodes
Electrical micro-probing permits the driving or monitoring of a voltage or signal at any mid-circuit node(s) with or without available probe pads.
Our micro-probing facility with optical microscope permits direct electrical connection to structures down to 10×10 microns. This is sufficient to connect to power structures and any nodes connected to FIB deposited probe pads in a device.
We have a number of different probe types available or customers can repeat their own tips setup and test condition. Power supplies and a Tektronix curve tracer are on-site and available for your use to support your test protocol and confirm your FIB-layout edits and functionality changes are successful.
For a detailed description of the equipment and techniques available, go to the Tools and Techniques page.
There are 3 clear advantages
- It can be QUICK as it can be done directly on opened circuits without changing the device layout.
- IT WORKS ON PASSIVATED TOP LAYER TRACKS – by using FIB to open windows in the passivation coating.
- IT WORKS ON BURIED NODES –by first depositing a FIB probe pad on top of the passivation and connecting it down to the target node.
Don't be shy, get in touch.
If you are not sure about an aspect of this technique we’re happy to chat through it with you.
How to get the most benefit from FIB IC Nano-surgery?
There are many advantages of correcting an IC design with FIB Nano-Surgery, but sometimes there are also problems, and many designers have been put off the technique. Did your last FIB work as you expected? Or was the yield low? or you got results you couldn’t explain? A quick recap of the reasons to do a FIB edit and how you would go about it, might be helpful. SCENE: So you’ve taped out your big new design, and 4 months and ₤400,000 /$/€ later, your 1st Silicon devices have arrived for tests to start. And immediately, there’s a problem. If you are lucky, then a normal functional test has failed and after a few days of head scratching it becomes clear what the cause is, and what the most likely metal fix should be. If you are unlucky and it’s more subtle, but still a show stopper for customer acceptance, then the fix strategy may be less obvious. Either way, prompt action is required and there are some difficult decisions to make. Your colleagues, customers and suppliers are all waiting to help get your product to market. Then there is the expense and the delays: to testing, to qualification, to sales and to revenue – which all add up to a serious commercial inconvenience. What ARE your options here? Risk a design change because there is a high confidence that the fix is understood? Do you roll the dice (the expensive and time consuming ones) and trust that the fix will work? Or spend a week trying to get a few chips fixed using FIB nano-surgery and give yourself some... read more
Circuit Nano-Surgery and Failure Analysis Online Tutorial
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Free IC microscope inspections using LiveOPTICAL
Free LiveOPTICAL chip inspections over the web – try something new while you’re stuck working from home.
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