How to do capacitor scenario analysis

What are the advances in capacitor failure analysis?

Advancements in failure analysis have been made in root cause determination and stress testing methods of capacitors with extremely small (approximately 200 nm) defects. Subtrac-tive imaging has enabled a non-destructive means of locating a capacitor short site, reducing the FIB resources needed to analyze a defect.

How did the OEM test the break-down of capacitors?

The OEM tested the break-down of the capacitors using test structures that were not made with the same design and did not include the seams. Therefore, stress test boards were developed to test a total of 192 undamaged devices in parallel.

How do you test a capacitor?

Typical testing for capacitors is a voltage break-down test done on parallel test structures made on-wafer . The OEM tested the break-down of the capacitors using test structures that were not made with the same design and did not include the seams.

Can a capacitor be stress tested in a non-destructive manner?

In addition, capacitors can be stress tested in a non-destructive manner, to screen for latent failures. This work leads to reducing capacitor failure rates in the field in the presence of these types of process defects.

How can you tell if a capacitor is failing?

There were no visual deformities seen under standard microscopy on the capacitor’s top metal. Most subtle failures in a capacitor are those in the dielectric which are difficult to find under standard spectroscopy . To determine the location of the short, a current of 50 mA was forced through the failed capacitor.

What causes a capacitor to fail?

Keysight Technologies’ failure analysis team determined the root cause of these failures to be voids in the capacitor dielectric layer. The voids allowed the propagation of metal into the dielec-tric layer. This metal migration led to latent failures in the field.