Failure mechanisms in advanced BCD technology during reliability qualification

During the qualification of a new Advanced Bipolar, CMOS, DMOS (A-BCD) technology some typical failure modes were observed in this SOI process. After a short introduction of the technology and its areas of application three different failure modes will be discussed. The failures initiated during HTOL test are localized with standard PEM/OBIRCH analysis techniques. Main focus will be on the physical defects at the origin of the fail and the different techniques to reveal them. The failures are observed within the Shallow Trench Isolation (STI) module of the High Voltage components and along the edge of the Medium Trench Isolation (MTI). The root causes and the possible corrective actions will be discussed when applicable.