Each year in conjunction with the technical program, CS ManTech offers a one day workshop on a topic or topics of interest to the compound semiconductor community.  Past programs have offered tutorials on areas ranging from materials and processing, test and characterization, applications and market analysis, to engineering management and intellectual property rights.  These invited talks by industry and academic leaders offer a forum for in-depth presentations and instruction. 

This year’s theme is Manufacturing and Reliability.  Significant advances in manufacturing processes and device/circuit performance have been and are being made by the compound semiconductor community.  However, if the technology is unreliable, no one will use it.  Reliability and the underlying manufacturing processes are critical areas to be understood.   To this end, CS ManTech is pleased to offer a day of talks on this subject that will focus on the reliability assessment process and robust manufacturing analysis.  The planned tutorials will provide a good overview for those just wanting to learn more, but will provide sufficient breadth of topics and detail that even those in the field will learn something new.  The workshop schedule can be found in the advance program or for the latest schedule, please see our website at www.csmantech.org - Workshop Schedule.

The morning will begin with a talk titled “Moving from Reliability to Manufacturability” given by Mr. Bill Roesch from TriQuint Semiconductor.   Mr. Roesch is a dynamic speaker and a conference favorite having won a number of “Best Paper” awards.  He is an expert in the field of compound semiconductor reliability and brings decades of experience, data and analysis to the task of understanding the connection between robust manufacturing processes, yield and reliability.  In addition to a historical perspective of CS reliability and a discussion on the conventional reliability assessment process, Mr. Roesch will present new material showing how device/circuit lifetime is linked to a robust manufacturing process.  After a short break, Mr. Kevin Berger  from Analytical Solutions, Inc will discuss an array of techniques that can be used in root cause investigations in his talk “Failure Analysis – Fault Localization.”  An activation energy and extrapolated lifetime are useful (and often necessary) figures of merit for semiconductor technology, but ultimately we need to understand the degradation mechanism causing the part to fail.  Techniques discussed will include non-invasive microscopy (optical, x-ray and acoustic), electrical isolation (photoemission and liquid crystal), and electron beam analysis such as scanning electron beam (SEM) imaging, electron beam induced current (EBIC) imaging, and voltage contrast (VC) imaging. 

Afternoon sessions will begin with a talk by Dr. Mike Salmon of Evans Analytical Group titled “Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) Based Failure Analysis.”  Fault sites localized via techniques described in the morning session can be examined at the atomic level through TEM analysis.  The EAG talk will describe site specific cross-sectional TEM characterization.  Topics will include sample preparation techniques, S/TEM imaging, and chemical analysis.  Examples of TEM base FA will be discussed.  Professor Jesus del Alamo of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will follow with a discussion on step stress analysis in his talk titled, “Electrical, thermal and environmental reliability of transistors:  Experimental techniques to identify fundamental degradation mechanisms.”  Professor del Alamo will contrast step stress analysis with the traditional three temperature accelerated life test procedure routinely performed in conventional reliability assessments.  Examples of how alternative stressors can be applied in step stress analysis will be described along with results from the process. 

The final session of the day begins with the talk “Fully Coupled Process and Device Simulation for Understanding Reliability” from Professor Mark Law from the University of Florida.  Professor Law will describe how process simulation can be used to help understand degradation phenomenon.  For example, how can modeled defect behavior help predict dopant diffusion and activation?  Methodology for simulating these effects and initial results from a case study will be presented. The final presentation is from Professor Martin Kuball from the University of Bristol titled, “Modern thermography for semiconductor technology for reliability testing: Channel temperature and stresses/strains in devices.”  Lifetime projections are predicated on accurate channel temperature estimates.  Professor Kuball will provide an overview of techniques used to measure channel temperature with an emphasis on micro Raman analysis. 

This program offers a unique opportunity for instruction in the art and science of reliability engineering.  Please see our website: www.csmantech.org for more nformation.