Failure Analysis: Current Processes and Future Needs

The roles of failure analysis in the semiconductor business will be presented including the value added propositions for failure analysis. The current processes used in the failure analysis of integrated circuits will be discussed with examples (except for failure site isolation which will be discussed in a separate tutorial). Key processes include failure verification, package analysis, physical and chemical analysis approaches. Current and anticipated trends in these areas will be discussed as well. How these trends drive our future needs in failure analysis will also be discussed. Key gaps for future technologies will be included.

Larry Wagner graduated from Marquette University with a B.S. in Chemistry and Purdue University with a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry. He has been involved in various aspects of failure analysis for 27 years. His book, "Failure Analysis of IC's: Tools and Techniques" was printed in 1999 by Kluwer Academic. He was the first president of the Electronic Device Failure Analysis Society and first editor of the Electronic Device Failure Analysis Newsletter as well as the 1995 General Chair of the International Symposium for Testing and Failure Analysis. He is currently on the Board of Trustees of ASM International. He has chaired the International Sematech Product Analysis Forum twice and is a member of the International Sematech Quality Council.