US 6,548,881 B1Granted

Method and apparatus to achieve bond pad crater sensing and stepping identification in integrated circuit products

AssigneeAdvanced Micro Devices, Inc.

InventorsRichard C. Blish, Pramod D. Patel, David E. Lewis, Colin D. Hatchard

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Abstract

Method for stepping identification and bond pad crater jeopardy identification in integrated circuits and apparatus which performs the method, A unique device, a polysilicon meander, is formed under each bond pad in the integrated circuit device. Connected to the meander is circuitry for determining the electrical, and hence mechanical, integrity of the meander. Failure of the meander by reason of microcrack formation in the several layers under the meander is detected by the high resistance of the meander. The circuitry will also resolve any potential mismatch between the actual mask revision of the integrated circuit and the corresponding revision of the test program.

Claims10

Dependent claims

A semiconductor device including at least one layer formed on a substrate and a plurality of wire bond pads electrically connected with a corresponding plurality of external electrical contacts, the semiconductor device implementing a non-destructive method of testing for the formation of a crack in a portion of the semiconductor device beneath selected ones of the plurality of bond pads, the semiconductor device further comprising:

a plurality of sensor circuits disposed on the semiconductor device;
and
an electrically conductive element disposed beneath each of the selected ones of the plurality of bond pads, one end of each electrically conductive element being electrically connected to its respective one of the selected ones of the plurality of bond pads and the opposite end of each electrically conductive element to a respective one of the plurality of sensor circuits.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.