Search Results

There is a concern that the continuing trend on miniaturization (Moore's law) in IC design and fabrication might have a negative impact on the device reliability. To understand and to possibly quantify the physics underlying this concern and phenomenon, it is natural to proceed from the experimental bathtub curve (BTC) - reliability “passport” of the device. This curve reflects the combined effect of two major irreversible governing processes: statistics-related mass-production process that results in a decreasing failure rate with time, and reliability-physics-related degradation (aging) process that leads to an increasing failure rate. It is the latter process that is of major concern of a device designer and manufacturer. The statistical process can be evaluated theoretically, using a rather simple predictive model.