Terahertz Beam Testing of Millimeter Wave Monolithic Integrated Circuits

The measured response of a monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) to the sub-terahertz (300 GHz) radiation is in qualitative agreement with the analytical theory of the overdamped plasmonic detection and has been used to establish and identify the integrated circuit faults. The bias and polarization dependences of the response measured between the different pins provide information about the faults location. In contrast to a more conventional terahertz and radio frequency imaging and testing techniques, this method relies on the electronic response with the resolution determined by the transistor size. Another advantage of this non-destructive non-contact approach is that the MMICs or VLSIs can be tested either biased or unbiased. Multiple transistors within the circuit or the entire circuit can be tested fast.