Electromigration-Induced Bit-Error-Rate Degradation of Interconnect Signal Paths Characterized from a 16nm Test Chip

An array-based test-vehicle for tracking bit-error-rate (BER) degradation of signal interconnects subject to DC electromigration (EM) stress was implemented in a 16nm FinFET process. A unit interconnect path comprises five identical interconnect stages where each wire is driven by inverter based buffers. Accelerated EM stress testing is achieved entirely on-chip using metal heaters located directly above the devices-under-test (DUTs) and separate stress circuits driving both ends of the wire. BER measurement results from four individual interconnect paths are presented and analyzed.