Analysis and modeling of systematic and defect related yield issues during early development of a new technology

In every generation of new technology development, yield management engineers face new challenges in the detection and modeling of physical defects and systematic yield inhibitors. This paper discusses several approaches to yield modeling that were useful during initial development of 64M DRAM technology. These approaches combined electrical source defect analysis (ESDA) supplemented by end-of-line failure analysis (FA) with in-line defect monitoring using sensitive inspection recipes at frequent processing steps to identify and track the systematic yield and particle issues that must be overcome.