Die Level Fault Isolation - Die-Level Defect Localization of Super Power Rail Using Dynamic Lock-In Thermography
Die Level Fault Isolation - Die-Level Defect Localization of Super Power Rail Using Dynamic Lock-In Thermography
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Summary:
As semiconductor manufacturing advances from N3 FinFET to A16 Super Power Rail (SPR), new challenges emerge, particularly in failure analysis. TSMC's A16™ technology, which introduces nanosheet-based devices with SPR, offers significant benefits in reducing device area and power consumption. However, its innovative architecture renders certain traditional Electrical Failure Analysis (EFA) methods ineffective. Due to the inefficiency of light transmission through the thick stack of metal layers, optical-based techniques such as laser stimulation and photon emission are no longer viable. Consequently, heat-based detection methods are becoming more attractive. To bridge the gap left by Optical Fault Isolation (OFI), dynamic Lock-In Thermography (LIT) has been considered and applied. This paper presents multiple case studies demonstrating the successful localization of defects on A16 SPR devices using dynamic LIT.
As semiconductor manufacturing advances from N3 FinFET to A16 Super Power Rail (SPR), new challenges emerge, particularly in failure analysis. TSMC's A16™ technology, which introduces nanosheet-based devices with SPR, offers significant benefits in reducing device area and power consumption. However, its innovative architecture renders certain traditional Electrical Failure Analysis (EFA) methods ineffective. Due to the inefficiency of light transmission through the thick stack of metal layers, optical-based techniques such as laser stimulation and photon emission are no longer viable. Consequently, heat-based detection methods are becoming more attractive. To bridge the gap left by Optical Fault Isolation (OFI), dynamic Lock-In Thermography (LIT) has been considered and applied. This paper presents multiple case studies demonstrating the successful localization of defects on A16 SPR devices using dynamic LIT.