Product Reliability Challenges for VLSI Technology



	Product Reliability Challenges for VLSI Technology

	Ronald J. Bolam Technology Reliability Engineering IBM Microelectronics Division Dept. N65V, Zip 967A 1000 River St., Essex Jct., VT 05452

	This tutorial discusses product reliability issues facing current generation VLSI technologies and the failure mechanisms that affect reliability. For large circuit function chips, like microprocessors, maintaining high reliability is becoming more difficult to achieve. Reliability screen effectiveness, soft error rate, burn-in power and performance degradation through product life are of utmost concern. In addition, a review of reliability mechanisms, such as negative bias temperature instability (NBTI), hot carrier injection (HCI), etc., will be discussed, and, how these mechanisms manifest themselves in product failures.

	Ronald J. Bolam received his AS in Electrical Engineering from the Electronics Institute, Pittsburgh, Pa in 1981, BS in Physics from the University of Vermont, Burlington, Vt in 1986 and MS in Material Science from the University of Vermont, Burlington, Vt in 1992. Since 1981, he has been employed with the IBM Microelectronics Division in Essex Junction, Vt. He is currently an Advisory Engineer in the Technology Reliability organization, specializing in MOSFET reliability, silicon on insulator and MIM capacitor reliability. Mr. Bolam is a member of IEEE and the American Physical Society.