A transient fuse scheme for plasma etch damage detection

We have devised a novel transient fuse scheme that separates charging during metal clear (latent antenna) damage from overetch damage (Krishnan et al., IEDM, p. 445, 1997). The transient fuse "auto-disconnects" during an etch process, thus profiling the damage during the etch process. Using this technique, we show instances in an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) metal etch where charging occurs exclusively during metal clear or overetch or both depending on process and hardware. We have also extended this application to polysilicon etch damage and propose its use as a protection device against latent antenna damage.