System and method for wireless and dynamic intra-process measurement of integrated circuit parameters
First Claim
1. A system for wireless measurement of integrated circuit parameters, said system comprising:
- a wafer comprising a passive circuit with a predetermined sensitivity to process variations in at least one integrated circuit parameter, said at least one integrated circuit parameter comprises at least one of a physical parameter and an electrical parameter;
an interrogation unit positioned adjacent to, without contacting, said passive circuit, said interrogation unit wirelessly applying a stimulus to said passive circuit and further wirelessly detecting actual circuit behavior of a specific type exhibited by said passive circuit in response to said stimulus; and
an analyzer in communication with said interrogation unit and determining a value for said at least one integrated circuit parameter based on a difference between expected circuit behavior to be exhibited by said passive circuit in response to said stimulus and said actual circuit behavior exhibited by said passive circuit in response to said stimulus.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed are embodiments of a system and a method that allow for wireless and dynamic intra-process (i.e., during and/or between process steps) measurements of integrated circuit parameters. The embodiments incorporate the use of a passive circuit, such as an inductor-capacitor-resistor (LCR) circuit resonator, that has a predetermined sensitivity to process variations in one or more physical or electrical integrated circuit parameters. The passive circuit can be wirelessly interrogated between and/or process steps. Then, the actual behavior exhibited by the passive circuit in response to the interrogation is compared to the expected behavior of an optimal circuit in the absence of process variations in order to determine the one or more parameters. Also disclosed is an embodiment of an exemplary passive circuit that can be used to implement the disclosed system and method embodiments.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system for wireless measurement of integrated circuit parameters, said system comprising:
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a wafer comprising a passive circuit with a predetermined sensitivity to process variations in at least one integrated circuit parameter, said at least one integrated circuit parameter comprises at least one of a physical parameter and an electrical parameter; an interrogation unit positioned adjacent to, without contacting, said passive circuit, said interrogation unit wirelessly applying a stimulus to said passive circuit and further wirelessly detecting actual circuit behavior of a specific type exhibited by said passive circuit in response to said stimulus; and an analyzer in communication with said interrogation unit and determining a value for said at least one integrated circuit parameter based on a difference between expected circuit behavior to be exhibited by said passive circuit in response to said stimulus and said actual circuit behavior exhibited by said passive circuit in response to said stimulus. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A passive resonator with a predetermined sensitivity to process variations in at least one integrated circuit parameter, said passive resonator comprising:
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a substrate; at least one structure with resistive behavior on said substrate; at least one structure with inductive behavior on said substrate; and at least one structure with capacitive behavior on said substrate, said at least one structure with resistive behavior, said at least one structure with capacitive behavior and said at least one structure with inductive behavior being interconnected and configured to form an inductor-capacitor-resistor (LCR) circuit that exhibits, in response to radio frequency energy, resonant behavior that varies in a predictable manner as a function of said process variations in said at least one integrated circuit parameter, said at least one integrated circuit parameter comprising one of a physical parameter and an electrical parameter. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for wireless measurement of integrated circuit component parameters, said system comprising:
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a wafer comprising a passive resonator with a predetermined sensitivity to process variations in at least one integrated circuit parameter, said at least one integrated circuit parameter comprising at least one of a physical parameter and an electrical parameter; an interrogation unit positioned adjacent to, without contacting, said passive resonator, said interrogation unit wirelessly applying a stimulus to said passive resonator, said stimulus comprising a radio frequency energy and said interrogation unit further wirelessly detecting actual resonant behavior exhibited by said passive resonator in response to said radio frequency energy; and an analyzer in communication with said interrogation unit and determining a value for said at least one integrated circuit parameter based on a difference between expected resonant behavior to be exhibited by said passive resonator in response to said radio frequency energy and said actual resonant behavior exhibited by said passive resonator in response to said radio frequency energy. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17)
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18. A method for wireless measurement of integrated circuit parameters, said method comprising:
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providing a wafer comprising a passive circuit having a predetermined sensitivity to process variations in at least one integrated circuit parameter, said at least one integrated circuit comprising at least one of a physical parameter and an electrical parameter; wirelessly interrogating said passive circuit using an interrogation unit positioned adjacent to, without contacting, said passive circuit, said wirelessly interrogating comprising; wirelessly applying a stimulus to said passive circuit; and wirelessly detecting actual circuit behavior of a specific type exhibited by said passive circuit in response to said stimulus; and determining, by an analyzer in communication with said interrogation unit, a value for said at least one integrated circuit parameter based on a difference between expected circuit behavior to be exhibited by said passive circuit in response to said stimulus and said actual circuit behavior exhibited by said passive circuit in response to said stimulus. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification