Focused Ion Beam (FIB) tools have become a ubiquitous and indispensable part of modern semiconductor Failure Analysis (FA) laboratories. The FIB is the tool of choice for a wide range of FA activities, including fault isolation, circuit edit and design debug, logical-to-physical verification, and stress-free cross sectioning. As such, they can be invaluable in reducing yield learning cycles and speeding product time-to-market. This tutorial provides an overview of some of the most common ‘electrically oriented' applications, with emphasis on the following:

a) General sample preparation, charge control and repackaging considerations.

b) FIB probe pads and in-situ probing for SRAM cell and circuit characterization.

c) Passive Voltage Contrast (PVC) and other fault isolation techniques.

d) Circuit edit and design/layout verification basics - copper and aluminum interconnects, front and backside access, navigation and end-pointing, standard bulk CMOS vs. SOI device construction.

e) The dual beam FIB advantage.

f) Migration of laboratory electrical FIB techniques into the wafer FAB line.