Semiconductor device evaluation apparatus and semiconductor device evaluation program product

• US 6,300,779 B1
• Filed: 06/18/1999
• Issued: 10/09/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Original Assignee: NEC Corporation
• Inventors: Masuda, Norio, Tamaki, Naoya
• Primary Examiner(s): KARLSEN, ERNEST F
• Application Number:
  US09/336,623
• Time in Patent Office: 844 Days
• Field of Search: 324/750, 324/751, 324/753, 324/501, 324/765, 324/95
• US Class Current: 324/754.29
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 29/0892 Details related to signal analysis or treatment; presenting results, e.g. displays; measuring specific signal features other than field strength, e.g. polarisation, field modes, phase, envelope, maximum value
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/315 by inductive methods

Abstract

A semiconductor device evaluation apparatus for correctly measuring emission noise of a semiconductor device includes: an electromagnetic field measurement unit for measuring a two-dimensional electromagnetic field distribution in a plane parallel to an upper surface of a semiconductor device; a distribution image generation unit for not only extracting a distribution of an electromagnetic field higher than a threshold value determined in advance from the electromagnetic field distribution of the semiconductor device measured by the electromagnetic field measurement unit but converting the extracted electromagnetic field distribution to a distribution image in a two-dimensional plane; an image collation unit for collating the distribution image generated by the distribution image generation unit with a projected image, generated in advance, of an interconnect and a lead frame of the semiconductor device; and an emission source specifying unit for specifying an interconnect or a lead frame whose images are superposed, if the images of the electromagnetic field distribution, and the interconnects and lead frames are superposed on each other in collation by the image collation unit, as an emission source.

Claims

1. A semiconductor device evaluation apparatus comprising:

an imaging unit for obtaining an image of a semiconductor device;

an electromagnetic field measurement unit for measuring an electromagnetic field distribution emitted from the semiconductor device;

an electromagnetic field distribution extracting unit for extracting a distribution of an electromagnetic field higher than a threshold value determined in advance and positional information of the distribution from an electromagnetic field distribution of a semiconductor device which is measured by the electromagnetic field measurement unit collated with the image; and

a part specifying unit for specifying a part of the semiconductor device which is high in emitted electromagnetic field among parts thereof based on the positional information of the electromagnetic field distribution which is extracted by the electromagnetic file distribution extracting unit.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the imaging device is a camera.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a drive unit for applying a electronic signal directly to the semiconductor device such that the semiconductor device emits the electromagnetic field.

2. A semiconductor device evaluation apparatus comprising:

an electromagnetic field measurement unit for measuring a two-dimensional electromagnetic field distribution emitted from a semiconductor device in a plane parallel to an upper surface of the semiconductor device;

a distribution image generation unit for not only extracting a distribution of an electromagnetic field higher than a threshold value determined in advance from the electromagnetic field distribution of the semiconductor device measured by the electromagnetic field measurement unit but also converting the extracted electromagnetic field distribution to a distribution image in the two-dimensional plane;

an image collation unit for collating the distribution image generated by the distribution image generation unit with a projected image, generated in advance, of an interconnect and a lead frame of the semiconductor device; and

an emission source specifying unit for specifying an interconnect or a lead frame whose images are superposed as an emission source if the images of the electromagnetic field distribution, and the images of the interconnects and lead frames, are superposed on each other in collation by the image collation unit.

3. The semiconductor device evaluation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the distribution image generation unit is provided with a function of segmenting an electromagnetic field emitted from the semiconductor device between the maximum and minimum strength level into a plurality of strength level intervals according to emission strength and

the emission source specifying unit is provided with a capability of specifying an interconnect or a lead frame which corresponds to each of the emission strength level intervals.

4. The semiconductor device evaluation apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the emission source specifying unit is provided with a function of not only rearranging lead frames in the order of emission strength level intervals, but also transmitting the rearranged lead frame information in the new order of the lead frames as an output to the outside.

5. The semiconductor device evaluation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the distribution image generation unit is provided with a function of narrowing the emission strength level intervals till no change appears in the newer order of the strength level intervals of leads after rearrangement of the strength level intervals of the lead frames by the emission source specifying unit.

6. The semiconductor device evaluation apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the emission source specifying unit is provided with a capability which transmits synthesized information of the lead frames rearranged according to the emission strength level intervals and pin assignment made by referencing to the pin assignment database showing functions of the lead frames in a circuit defined in advance as an output to the outside.

7. The semiconductor device evaluation apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the electromagnetic field measurement unit comprises:

a signal layer having a signal line; and

a magnetic field sensor having a ground layer which works as a ground for the signal layer.

8. The semiconductor device evaluation apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the emission source specifying unit is provided with a function which calculates an electric current value in the semiconductor device which is a cause of an emitted electromagnetic field based on a voltage showing the magnetic field sensed by the magnetic field sensor and a magnetic permeability of a medium surrounding the semiconductor device.

9. The semiconductor device evaluation apparatus according to claim 8, wherein an attenuator for eliminating a common mode of an output of the magnetic field sensor is used together with the magnetic field sensor.

10. A semiconductor device evaluation apparatus comprising;

a mounting section for mounting a semiconductor device for evaluation;

a semiconductor device drive unit for driving the semiconductor device mounted on the mounting section;

an electromagnetic field sensor for sensing an electromagnetic field emitted from the semiconductor device which is driven by the semiconductor device drive unit;

a measurement unit for measuring an output of the electromagnetic field sensor;

an image pick-up unit for taking a photograph of patterns of interconnects or lead frames of the semiconductor device;

a scan unit for conducting scanning with the electromagnetic field sensor and the image pick-up unit in three coordinate axis directions;

an input unit to which information on a scan range, a scan pitch, a scan speed of the scan unit or the like, and information on settings of the image pick-up unit and the measurement unit and the like are supplied as inputs;

a control unit for controlling the scan unit, the image pick-up unit, the measurement unit according to information which is supplied as inputs to the input unit;

wherein the control unit also receives information from the measurement unit and the image pick-up unit;

a record unit which prepares and stores a two-dimensional electromagnetic distribution based on information obtained from the measuring unit and the image pick-up unit by way of the control unit;

an arithmetic unit which not only extract an emitted electromagnetic field distribution higher than a threshold value which can arbitrarily be set based on a two-dimensional electromagnetic field distribution which is prepared in the record unit, but also specifies an interconnect and a lead frame of the semiconductor device which are large in emission quantity by projecting the extracted electromagnetic field distribution on the image from the image pick-up unit; and

an indication unit for indicating the two-dimensional electromagnetic field distribution prepared by the record unit, the emitted electromagnetic field distribution with a high strength having a linear shape prepared by the arithmetic unit and the image from the image pick-up unit.

11. A semiconductor device evaluation apparatus comprising:

an imaging means for obtaining an image of a semiconductor device;

an electromagnetic field measurement means for measuring an electromagnetic field distribution emitted from the semiconductor device;

an electromagnetic field distribution extracting means for extracting a distribution of an electromagnetic field higher than a threshold value determined in advance and positional information of the distribution from an electromagnetic field distribution of a semiconductor device which is measured by the electromagnetic field measurement means collated with the image; and

a part specifying means for specifying a part of the semiconductor device which is high in emitted electromagnetic field among parts thereof based on the positional information of the electromagnetic field distribution which is extracted by the electromagnetic field distribution extracting means.