ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an approach to semiconductor process reliability testing, focusing on Gallium Arsenide technology. Semiconductor process reliability studies are used to quantify the wearout characteristics of semiconductor devices. The objective of performing semiconductor process reliability studies is to assure that the semiconductor device manufacturing processes are capable of producing products with acceptable long-term reliability. In defining a semiconductor process reliability study, the first requirement is often to determine what to use as a test vehicle. The three major drawbacks to the use of discrete components as test vehicles for semiconductor process reliability studies are fixturing, availability, and correlation. Semiconductor process reliability studies typically use significantly smaller sample sizes than product qualifications. Among the most significant semiconductor process reliability developments are tests designed to gauge reliability at the wafer level. The primary intent of these tests is to provide a real-time monitor of process reliability for each wafer that is manufactured.
