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) An investigation of beam parameters and process gas selection. B) General sample preparation, charge control & repackaging considerations. C) Circuit edit & design/layout verification basics - copper & aluminum interconnects, front & backside access, navigation & endpointing, standard bulk CMOS vs. SOI device construction. D) FIB probe pads & in-situ probing for SRAM cell & circuit characterization. E) Intro to Passive Voltage Contrast (PVC) and other fault isolation techniques. F) The dual beam FIB advantage. G) Migration of laboratory electrical FIB techniques into the wafer FAB line.