TY - JOUR A1 - Unterreitmeier, M. A1 - Nagler, O. A1 - Pfitzner, L. A1 - Weigel, R. A1 - Holmer, Rainer T1 - An acoustic emission sensor system for thin layer crack detection JF - Microelectronics Reliability N2 - We present a new method for semiconductor layer characterization enabling simultaneous crack generation and detection based on the established acoustic emission testing. In this paper, we explain the test concept and failure mechanism of diamond tip indentation with acoustic wave measurement on oxide layers by analytical modeling and computer-aided simulations. For this purpose, an innovative design of a sensor-indenter system was developed and experimentally verified. In further tests, the new acoustic crack detection method is correlated with proven optical inspection methods and the good reproducibility of the measurement is demonstrated. The high sensitivity and resolution of this method offer new opportunities for thin layer characterization at lower time and cost. The new high-efficient method can be used especially for process qualification for semiconductor wafer test, where oxide cracks can be induced by sharp probes causing electrical failure of the chip. KW - FLAT KW - INDENTATION Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microrel.2018.07.015 VL - 88-90 IS - September SP - 16 EP - 21 PB - Pergamon-Elsevier ER - TY - CHAP A1 - Tremmel, Florian A1 - Nagler, O. A1 - Kutter, C. A1 - Holmer, Rainer T1 - Smart Cantilever Probe with Integrated Force and Acoustic Emission Sensor T2 - 2023 IEEE SENSORS, Vienna, Austria, 10/29/2023 - 11/1/2023 N2 - Acoustic emission (AE) testing recently found its application in the wafer testing sector of the semiconductor industry. To find out the mechanical robustness of semiconductor devices, contact pads on the chip surface are intentionally overstressed with an indenter tip and the appearing oxide cracks are detected with help of the generated AE signals. This is done in a customized test bench with a patented sensor-indenter system. This paper presents an improved version of the measurement setup that solves certain disadvantages of it and can be used in a standard wafer prober. The main components of the developed sensor system are a strain gauge for contact force measurement and a piezoelectric sensor element for AE signal detection. Both components are integrated on a cantilever beam which has an exchangeable indenter tip at its free end. The cantilever probe is electrically conductive to enable electrical tests via the indenter tip. This smart sensor-cantilever combination (SCC) can be mounted with several adapter components on a carrier plate to place it in a wafer prober. For both sensor elements amplifier circuits are developed to enhance their signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). A prototype setup is shown together with simulated and experimental results to demonstrate its performance. The mechanical properties of the cantilever, as well as the force sensor and the AE crack signals, already fulfill the requirements for an implementation in a wafer prober. To further improve the sensor resolutions and detection limits, several optimizations regarding the design of the SCC are in progress. KW - Acoustic emission testing KW - piezoelectric sensor KW - strain gauge KW - operational amplifier circuit Y1 - 2023 SN - 979-8-3503-0387-2 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1109/SENSORS56945.2023.10325021 SP - 1 EP - 4 PB - IEEE ER -