Semiconductor reliability test chip

• US 6,538,264 B2
• Filed: 08/28/2001
• Issued: 03/25/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/17/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Micron Technology, Inc.
• Inventors: Gonzalez, Fernando, Corbett, Tim J., Scholer, Raymond P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Alexander O.
• Application Number:
  US09/941,089
• Publication Number:
  US 20020024046A1
• Time in Patent Office: 574 Days
• Field of Search: 257/48, 257/203, 257/620, 257/208, 257/211, 257/202, 257/784, 257/786, 257/691
• US Class Current: 257/48
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/2856 Internal circuit aspects, e.g. built-in test features; Test chips; Measuring material aspects, e.g. electro migration [EM]
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/3163 Functional testing
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 22/34 Circuits for electrically characterising or monitoring manufacturing processes, e. g. whole test die, wafers filled with test structures, on-board-devices incorporated on each die, process control monitors or pad structures thereof, devices in scribe line switching, multiplexing, gating devices G01R19/25; process control with lithography, e.g. dose control, G03F7/20; structures for alignment control by optical means G03F7/70633
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/05553 being rectangular
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/45144 Gold (Au) as principal constituent
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/48463 the connecting portion on the bonding area of the semiconductor or solid-state body being a ball bond
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/49175 Parallel arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00014 the subject-matter covered by the group, the symbol of which is combined with the symbol of this group, being disclosed without further technical details
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01079 Gold [Au]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01327 Intermediate phases, i.e. intermetallics compounds
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/04941 TiN
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/14 Integrated circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/3011 Impedance

Abstract

A semiconductor test chip including a plurality of test functions. The test functions of the semiconductor test chip include bond pad pitch and size effects on chip design, wire bond placement accuracy regarding placement of the wire bond on the bond pad, evaluation of bond pad damage (cratering) effect on the area of the chip below the bond pad during bonding of the wire on the bond pad, street width effects regarding the use of thinner saw cuts in cutting the individual chips from the wafer, thermal impedance effects for thermal testing capabilities, ion mobility evaluation capabilities and chip on board in flip chip application test capabilities.

Claims

1. A semiconductor chip for testing a plurality of functions thereof comprising:

a semiconductor chip including a periphery having at least four sides, a plurality of contact pads located substantially adjacent at least a portion of at least one side of the periphery of the semiconductor chip, at least a portion of the plurality of contact pads being located in a first row and a second row located substantially adjacent behind the first row on at least a portion of at least one side of the semiconductor chip, said plurality of contact pads including more than one geometric shape, and at least a portion of one conductive line located substantially in a scribe area extending about at least a portion of the periphery of the semiconductor chip.

2. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the plurality of contact pads is located in at least two rows substantially adjacent the periphery of the semiconductor chip on a portion of a periphery of at least a first side and a second side of the semiconductor chip.

3. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the plurality of contact pads is of at least three different geometric shapes.

4. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein at least two of the contact pads of the plurality of contact pads differ in size.

5. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the plurality of contact pads includes contact pads having different pitches of mounting on the semiconductor chip.

6. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a plurality of conductive lines located substantially in the scribe area of the semiconductor chip extending substantially throughout the periphery of the semiconductor chip.

7. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a plurality of conductive lines located substantially in the scribe area of the semiconductor chip extending throughout a portion of the periphery of the semiconductor chip, at least two lines of the plurality of conductive lines having a width which differs from one another.

8. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a plurality of conductive lines located substantially in the scribe area of the semiconductor chip extending throughout a portion of the periphery of the semiconductor chip, each line of the plurality of conductive lines having a spacing which differs from another line of the plurality of conductive lines.

9. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the plurality of contact pads is formed in a plurality of groups of contact pads, each group of contact pads extending substantially about one side of the periphery of the semiconductor chip.

10. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the plurality of contact pads is formed in a plurality of groups of contact pads extending substantially about the periphery of the semiconductor chip, each individual group of contact pads being of different size than another group of contact pads of the plurality of contact pads.

11. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the plurality of contact pads is formed in a plurality of groups of contact pads extending substantially about the portion of the periphery of the semiconductor chip, each group of the plurality of groups of contact pads including at least a first row of contact pads and at least a second row of contact pads located adjacent the at least a first row of contact pads.

12. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a polysilicon area located under a portion of the plurality of contact pads.

13. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

an area of polysilicon located under a portion of the plurality of contact pads, the area of polysilicon having at least two differing configurations.

14. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a plurality of resistive type heaters located on a portion of the semiconductor chip.

15. The semiconductor chip of claim 14, wherein each resistive type heater of the plurality of resistive type heaters is independently connected to a connector pad on the semiconductor chip.

16. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a plurality of transistors to measure any temperature gradient in the semiconductor chip.

17. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a plurality of thin gate and thick gate transistor devices for measurement of temperature or ion contamination of the semiconductor chip.

18. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a plurality of resistors for measurement of thermal performance of a portion of the semiconductor chip and any package in which it is mounted.

19. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor chip is substantially square in shape.

20. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a plurality of flip chip test pads located substantially in a center portion of the semiconductor chip.

21. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a plurality of flip chip test pads in an array located in substantially a center portion of the semiconductor chip.

22. The semiconductor chip of claim 1, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a plurality of flip chip test pads located in substantially a center of the semiconductor chip, a portion of the plurality of flip chip test pads being connected in a daisy chain connection by conductors extending therebetween, the portion of the plurality of flip chip test pads being connected in the daisy chain connection being independent of other flip chip test pads of the plurality of flip chip test pads.

23. A semiconductor chip for testing comprising:

a semiconductor chip including a periphery formed by a plurality of sides, a plurality of contact pads located substantially adjacent a portion of the periphery of the semiconductor chip, the plurality of contact pads having a plurality of geometric shapes, the plurality of contact pads forming a plurality of groups of contact pads extending substantially about at least a portion of at least one side of the periphery of the semiconductor chip, each group of the plurality of groups of contact pads including at least a first row of contact pads and at least a second row of contact pads located adjacent the at least a first row of contact pads, a portion of the plurality of contact pads including active circuitry of the semiconductor chip.

24. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein the plurality of contact pads is located in at least two rows substantially adjacent the periphery of the semiconductor chip on a portion of the periphery of at least one side of the semiconductor chip.

25. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein the plurality of contact pads is of at least three different geometric shapes.

26. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein at least two of the contact pads of the plurality of contact pads differ in size.

27. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein the plurality of contact pads includes contact pads having different pitches of mounting on the semiconductor chip.

28. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

at least one line located substantially in a scribe area of the semiconductor chip extending about a portion of the periphery of the semiconductor chip.

29. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a plurality of lines located substantially in the scribe area of the semiconductor chip extending substantially throughout the periphery of the semiconductor chip.

30. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a plurality of lines located substantially in the scribe area of the semiconductor chip extending throughout a portion of the periphery of the semiconductor chip, at least two lines of the plurality of lines having a width which differs from another line of the plurality of lines.

31. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a plurality of lines located substantially in the scribe area of the semiconductor chip extending throughout a portion of the periphery of the semiconductor chip, each line of the plurality of lines having a spacing which differs from another line of the plurality of lines.

32. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein the plurality of contact pads is formed in the plurality of groups of contact pads, each group of contact pads extending substantially about one side of the periphery of the semiconductor chip.

33. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein the plurality of contact pads formed in the plurality of groups of contact pads extends substantially about the periphery of the semiconductor chip, each individual group of contact pads being of a different size than another group of contact pads of the plurality of contact pads.

34. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a polysilicon area located under at least a portion of the plurality of contact pads.

35. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

an area of polysilicon located under a portion of the plurality of contact pads, the area of polysilicon having at least two differing configurations.

36. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a plurality of resistive type heaters located on a portion of the semiconductor chip.

37. The semiconductor chip of claim 36, wherein each resistive type heater of the plurality of resistive type heaters is independently connected to a connector pad on the semiconductor chip.

38. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a plurality of transistors to measure any temperature gradient in the semiconductor chip.

39. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a plurality of thin gate and thick gate transistor devices for measurement of temperature or ion contamination of the semiconductor chip.

40. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a plurality of resistors for measurement of thermal performance of a portion of the semiconductor chip and any package in which it is contained.

41. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein the semiconductor chip is substantially square in shape.

42. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein the semiconductor chip for testing further includes:

a plurality of flip chip test pads located substantially in a center portion of the semiconductor chip.

43. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a plurality of flip chip test pads in an array located in substantially a center portion of the semiconductor chip.

44. The semiconductor chip of claim 23, wherein the semiconductor chip further includes:

a plurality of flip chip test pads located in substantially a center of the semiconductor chip, a portion of the plurality of flip chip test pads being connected in a daisy chain connection by conductors extending therebetween, the portion of the plurality of flip chip test pads being connected in the daisy chain connection being independent of other flip chip test pads of the plurality of flip chip test pads.