IP Library Granted Patent US 11,887,901
Granted Patent B2
US 11,887,901 · App. 17/472,994 · Granted Jan 30, 2024

Semiconductor device and test apparatus and method thereof

Inventors: Jae Won Kim (Daejeon, KR); Yong Jun Ban (Daejeon, KR); Wan Tae Kim (Daejeon, KR); Jin A Kim (Daejeon, KR); Soo Chul Jeon (Daejeon, KR)
Assignee: SILICON WORKS CO., LTD.
H01L22/34G01R31/2886H01L23/5228
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,887,901
App. No.
17/472,994
Granted
Jan 30, 2024
Kind
B2
Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor device, and a test apparatus and method thereof, capable of accurately detecting a defect by using a plurality of resistor circuits in a test process. The test apparatus of a semiconductor device according to an aspect of the present disclosure may include semiconductor chips each including an external resistor circuit disposed to be dispersed along an outer region of a chip and an internal resistor circuit disposed in an inner region of the chip in order to test cracks, and test equipment that drives the external resistor circuit and the internal resistor circuit and compares an output of the external resistor circuit with an output of the internal resistor circuit to detect whether a defect occurs in each of the semiconductor chips.

Claims (67)

1. A semiconductor device comprising:

an external resistor circuit disposed to be dispersed along an outer region of a chip, wherein

the external resistor circuit includes:

an external resistor structure including at least one of a diffusion layer, a polysilicon layer, and a wiring layer;

an external transistor connected to the external resistor structure; and

a first test pad disposed in a chip pad region and connected to the external transistor via the external resistor structure, and

the external resistor circuit is configured to output a current of the external transistor to the first test pad based on a change in a resistance value of the external resistor structure.

2. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , further comprising

an internal resistor circuit disposed in an inner region of the chip, wherein

the internal resistor circuit includes:

an internal resistor structure disposed in the inner region of the chip and including at least one of a diffusion layer, a polysilicon layer, and a wiring layer;

an internal transistor connected to the internal resistor structure; and

a second test pad disposed in the chip pad region and connected to the internal transistor through the internal resistor structure.

3. The semiconductor device of claim 2 , wherein the internal resistor circuit is configured to output a reference signal to be compared with an output of the external resistor circuit.

4. The semiconductor device of claim 2 , wherein the internal transistor of the internal resistor circuit includes:

a gate electrode configured to receive a first power signal from an internal circuit of the chip,

a first source or drain electrode configured to receive a second power signal lower than the first power signal from the internal circuit of the chip, and

a second source or drain electrode configured to receive an external power signal supplied to the second test pad through the internal resistor structure.

5. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein the external transistor of the external resistor circuit includes:

a gate electrode configured to receive a first power signal from an internal circuit of the chip,

a first source or drain electrode configured to receive a second power signal lower than the first power signal from the internal circuit of the chip, and

a second source or drain electrode configured to receive an external power signal supplied to the first test pad through the external resistor structure.

6. The semiconductor device of claim 1 , wherein

the external resistor structure includes the polysilicon layer and the wiring layer,

the polysilicon layer included in the external resistor structure is disposed on an insulating structure of a semiconductor substrate,

the wiring layer included in the external resistor structure includes a plurality of wiring layers each disposed on each of a plurality of interlayer insulating films and connected to each other through a contact plug of each of the interlayer insulating films, and

an uppermost wiring layer among the plurality of wiring layers is exposed to the first test pad.

7. The semiconductor device of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of wiring layers included in the external resistor structure are connected to the external transistor, or alternatively via the polysilicon layer, and are disposed to overlap the external transistor and at least a part of the polysilicon layer.

8. The semiconductor device of claim 6 , wherein

the external resistor circuit includes a first resistor circuit and a second resistor circuit, and

the first resistor circuit is disposed to partially overlap the second resistor circuit disposed adjacent to the first resistor circuit.

9. The semiconductor device of claim 8 , wherein

the semiconductor device comprises another external resistor circuit, and

the plurality of wiring layers included in the external resistor structure are disposed to overlap at least one of an external transistor and a polysilicon layer of said another external resistor circuit.

10. The semiconductor device of claim 6 , wherein

the external resistor circuit includes a plurality of resistor circuits, and

the plurality of resistor circuits have the same resistance value and the same external resistor structure, or have the same resistance value but different external resistor structures.

11. A test apparatus of a semiconductor device, comprising:

semiconductor chips each including an external resistor circuit disposed to be dispersed along an outer region of a chip and an internal resistor circuit disposed in an inner region of the chip; and

a test equipment configured to drive the external resistor circuit and the internal resistor circuit, and compare an output of the external resistor circuit with an output of the internal resistor circuit to detect whether a defect has occurred in each of the semiconductor chips.

12. The test apparatus of claim 11 , wherein based on a result of the comparison, the test equipment is configured to determine that a defect has occurred in the semiconductor chip and detect a position of the corresponding external resistor circuit as a defect occurrence position.

13. The test apparatus of claim 11 , wherein

the external resistor circuit includes:

an external resistor structure including at least one of a diffusion layer, a polysilicon layer, and a wiring layer that are disposed in the outer region of the chip,

an external transistor, and

a first test pad connected to the external transistor through the external resistor structure and disposed in a chip pad region, and

the internal resistor circuit includes:

an internal resistor structure disposed in the inner region of the chip and including at least one of a diffusion layer, a polysilicon layer, and a wiring layer,

an internal transistor, and

a second test pad connected to the internal transistor through the internal resistor structure and disposed in the chip pad region.

14. The test apparatus of claim 13 , wherein each of the external transistor of the external resistor circuit and the internal transistor of the internal resistor circuit includes:

a gate electrode configured to receive a first power signal from an internal circuit of the chip,

a first source or drain electrode configured to receive a second power signal lower than the first power signal from the internal circuit of the chip, and

a second source or drain electrode configured to receive an external power signal applied to the corresponding test pad through the corresponding resistor structure.

15. A test apparatus of a semiconductor device, comprising:

semiconductor chips each including a plurality of external resistor circuits disposed to be dispersed along an outer region of a chip; and:

a test equipment configured to drive the plurality of external resistor circuits, and compare outputs of the plurality of external resistor circuits with each other or compare the outputs with a predetermined reference value to detect whether a defect has occurred in each semiconductor chip.

16. The test apparatus of claim 15 , wherein based on a result of the comparison, the test equipment is configured to determine that a defect has occurred in the semiconductor chip and detect a position of the external resistor circuit as a defect occurrence position.

17. The test apparatus of claim 15 , wherein

each of the plurality of external resistor circuits includes:

an external resistor structure including at least one of a diffusion layer, a polysilicon layer, and a wiring layer that are disposed in the outer region of the chip,

an external transistor, and

a test pad connected to the external transistor through the external resistor structure and disposed in a chip pad region, and

the external transistor includes:

a gate electrode configured to receive a first power signal from an internal circuit of the chip,

a first source or drain electrode configured to receive a second power signal lower than the first power signal from the internal circuit of the chip, and

a second source or drain electrode configured to receive an external power signal applied to the test pad through the external resistor structure.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 13, 2021
From: KIM, JAE WON; BAN, YONG JUN; KIM, WAN TAE; KIM, JIN A; JEON, SOO CHUL
To: SILICON WORKS CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 057460/0040 →
Priority Claims (1)
KR 10-2020-0122669 · Sep 23, 2020 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20220093477A1 · Mar 24, 2022