Detection of Faint Luminescence From Faulty Action in Integrated Circuits

Silicon devices, both MOS and bipolar, emit light at sites of faulty device action. Consequently, the combination of detection of such light and the location of its emission is highly useful in device failure analysis. This is especially true for the complex very-large-scale integrated circuits, which often contain tens of thousands of transistors, making it difficult to pinpoint the primary failure location by other means. We will report on a sensitive and sophisticated apparatus for accomplishing these goals.