JPS6363979A - Method for aging semiconductor parts - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To efficiently detect a process defect, by a method wherein a voltage pulse is applied to the power source terminal of a semiconductor part to abruptly raise internal temp. by the self-generation of heat and, thereafter, the self- generation of heat is stopped to abruptly lower said temp. CONSTITUTION:A programmable power source 4 sets a voltage pulse of an indicated value on the basis of the indication of a system control circuit 5. A pulse control circuit 3 supplies a control signal to a power switch unit 2 by the indication of the circuit 5 to perform the ON/OFF control of said unit 2 and applies the voltage pulse set to the power source 4 to a semiconductor part 1. The part 1 itself generates heat from the rising point of time of the voltage pulse and the temp. of the junction part is raised abruptly to the vicinity of limit temp. and the voltage pulse begins to fall at that point of time to stop the self-generation of heat to abruptly lower the temp. of the junction part. As mentioned above, by applying abrupt heat shock due to the self- generation of heat, a process defect is efficiently detected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a method for aging semiconductor components such as semiconductor integrated circuits.

[Conventional technology]

In order to eliminate process defects in semiconductor components at an early stage, an aging method is known in which semiconductor components are subjected to thermal shock in a constant temperature bath.

In addition, for the purpose of early extraction of insulating film defects in semiconductor components, an aging method in which a constant voltage and a high voltage pulse are superimposed and applied to the power input terminal of the semiconductor component was disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 54-14.
It is disclosed in the specification and drawings of No. 487.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, with the former aging method, it is not possible to apply such a rapid thermal shock to the semiconductor component, so an effective thermal shock test cannot be performed. An expensive thermostat is required, increasing the equipment cost.

On the other hand, the latter aging method aims to apply high electric field stress to the insulating film while suppressing the generation of Joule heat in the semi-filled component as much as possible, and does not take thermal shock tests into consideration.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to apply rapid thermal shock to semiconductor components, which is difficult to achieve with temperature control using a constant temperature bath, to effectively extract process defects in semiconductor components, and to provide an aging method for semiconductor components that can be realized at low cost. The purpose is to provide a method.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention achieves the above object by applying a voltage pulse to a power supply terminal of a semiconductor component to apply a thermal shock to the semiconductor component due to its self-heating.

[For production]

By appropriately determining the voltage value, pulse width, repetition period, etc. of the voltage pulse to be applied, the temperature of the junction part in the semiconductor component can be rapidly raised to near the limit due to self-heating, and then the self-heating can be stopped. The temperature can be lowered rapidly to ambient temperature.

As described above, according to the aging method of the present invention, rapid heat generation of 1! I-finish can be added to semiconductor components to perform effective thermal shock testing.

The means for applying such voltage pulses can be realized relatively inexpensively, and semiconductor components are generally placed in a thermostatic oven, but the thermostatic oven is inexpensive and can be used in time. Aging methods can be implemented at low cost.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of an aging system for implementing the present invention.

In this figure, 1 is a semiconductor component to be aged,
A maximum of n pieces are housed in a constant temperature bath 6 and knee-singed at the same time.

2 is a DC power switch unit, which includes n power switches. The n output terminals corresponding to each power switch of this DC power switch unit 2 are connected to the power supply terminal of the corresponding semiconductor component 1.

A pulse control circuit 3 stores operation control information for the DC power switch unit 2, including information regarding single pulse mode/repeat pulse mode, pulse width, cycle speed, and pulse application time. Then, this pulse control circuit 3 provides a switch control signal according to the operation control information to n control input terminals corresponding to the power switches of the power switch unit 2.

A programmable power supply 4 provides a DC voltage to the power terminal of the DC power switch unit 2.

5 is a system control circuit.

It controls the start/end of aging, monitors the aging time, instructs the programmable power supply 4 to turn on/off, sets the voltage, and sets operation control information for the pulse control circuit 3.

Note that there is also a circuit for providing signals such as a clock for operating the semiconductor component 1, but since this is the same as the conventional circuit, illustration and explanation thereof will be omitted.

Next, the operation will be explained. The system control circuit 5 sets the voltage value of the voltage pulse to be applied to the power supply terminal of the semiconductor component 1 in the programmable power supply 4 , and also sets the operation control information in the pulse control circuit 3 . After that, from the system control circuit 5, '? An instruction to turn on the Li power source and an instruction to start operation are given to programmable power supply 4 and pulse control circuit 3, respectively.

As a result, a voltage of a specified value is supplied from the programmable electric field to the power switch unit 2, and a switch control signal according to the operation control information is supplied from the pulse control circuit 3 to the power switch unit 2.

The power switch in the power switch unit 2 is turned on and off by a switch control signal, and the programmable power supply 4
When each power switch is turned on, a supply voltage from the power switch is applied to the power supply terminal of the corresponding semiconductor component 1.

In this way, the pulse width, cycle speed, etc. are defined by the operation control information, and a voltage pulse having the voltage value set in the programmable ff1VA4 is applied to the power supply terminal of the semiconductor component 1, and the semiconductor component 1 is aged. .

Note that during this aging, as mentioned above, the semiconductor component 1
Signals necessary for the operation of the device, such as locking, are also supplied to the semiconductor component l. Further, the constant temperature bath 6 is also controlled to a predetermined temperature.

Here, the aging modes include a repeat pulse mode and a single pulse mode.

FIG. 2 is a time chart for explaining aging in the repeat pulse mode. In this mode, the semiconductor component 1 is placed in a low temperature environment and the voltage pulse V
The pulse width T of p is set wide.

From the time when the voltage pulse VP rises, the junction temperature Tj inside the semiconductor component 1 rapidly rises due to self-heating of that portion. When the junction temperature Tj rises to the vicinity of the limit temperature Tj■ax, the voltage pulse VP falls and self-heating stops, and the heat in the junction section is radiated, and the junction temperature Tj rapidly decreases toward the ambient temperature. .

In this way, by applying a voltage pulse, a sudden thermal shock can be applied to the junction portion inside the semiconductor component without causing its destruction, so that process defects can be quickly and efficiently extracted.

FIG. 3 is a time chart for explaining aging in single pulse mode. This mode is used when aging a semiconductor component in a high-temperature environment, particularly a semiconductor component with high power consumption, by applying high voltage stress. The semiconductor component 1 is placed in a high temperature environment and a voltage pulse V
The pulse width T of P is set to be sufficiently narrow, and the repetition period is set to be sufficiently long.

From the time when the voltage pulse VP rises, the junction temperature Tj inside the semiconductor component 1 rapidly rises due to self-heating of that portion. Because the temperature is high and the temperature is high, the junction temperature Tj reaches the limit temperature Tj in a short period of time.
It rises to the vicinity of wax.

Therefore, the pulse width of the voltage pulse VP is set to be sufficiently narrow.

When the voltage pulse VP falls and self-heating stops when the junction temperature Tj rises to the vicinity of the limit temperature Tjmax, the heat in the junction portion is radiated, and the junction temperature Tj rapidly decreases toward the ambient temperature.

In this way, instead of applying a constant voltage continuously, voltage pulses are applied, so high voltage stress that can cause junction breakdown if a constant voltage is applied continuously is applied to the semiconductor components, causing aging. It can be performed.

By combining the above two modes, the overall aging effect can be dramatically increased, and process defects in semiconductor components can be extracted in a short time.

Note that the internal temperature of the thermostatic oven 6 only needs to be maintained at a predetermined temperature, and rapid temperature control is not required, so a relatively inexpensive thermostatic oven 6 can be used. Furthermore, a circuit for applying voltage pulses can be realized at relatively low cost using common electronic circuit technology.

Although one embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited thereto, and can be implemented with appropriate modifications within the scope of the invention.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, process defects in semiconductor components can be efficiently extracted by applying rapid thermal shock to the semiconductor component due to self-heating.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram showing an example of an aging system for implementing the present invention, Figure 2 is a time chart for explaining aging in repeat pulse mode, and Figure 3 is for explaining aging in single pulse mode. This is a time chart for DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Semiconductor component, 2... Power switch unit, 3... Pulse control circuit, 4... Programmable power supply, 5... System control circuit, 6... Constant temperature chamber, Vp... Voltage pulse ,
Tj...Junction temperature.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) Apply a voltage pulse to the power supply terminal of the semiconductor component,
A method for aging a semiconductor component, comprising applying a thermal shock to the semiconductor component due to self-heating.