Keithley 2524 VPI White Paper (1) free download

File name 2524 VPI White Paper (1).pdf

WHITE PA P E R Designing a Semiconductor Characterization System for an Undergraduate Fabrication Lab Introduction Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University recently opened an 1,800 sq. ft. Class 10,000 cleanroom. This cleanroom is designed to help undergraduates learn the elements of the microchip fabrication process over the course of one semester and to encourage them to pursue more advanced studies. Unlike programs based on the use of tightly controlled IC production processes as teaching tools, the equipment used encourages students to experiment to find out how far they can "push" a specific processing tolerance before it affects device parameters. As part of their coursework, students learn how to measure the surface resistivity (i.e., sheet resistance) of test regions on a wafer during processing and to perform I-V characterization of the devices they create, which include capacitors, p-n junction diodes, resistors, and nMOSFETs [1]. This case study describes a simple, cost-effective parameter analysis system, built of easily obtainable components and programmed using a commercial, off-the-shelf test and measurement automation programming environment. Keithley Instruments, Inc. 28775 Aurora Road Cleveland, Ohio 44139 (440) 248-0400 Fax: (440) 248-6168 www.keithley.com A G r e a t e r M e a s u r e o f C o n f i d e n c e Requirements To address the needs of this high throughput undergraduate laboratory, the semiconductor characterization system had to meet several requirements: