TEKTRONIX 4200-SCS KEITHLEY Semiconductor Parameter Analyzer

Keithley 4200-SCS Parameter Analyzer: research applications
R&D of semiconductor materials and devices — traditional semiconductor and microelectronics disciplines
Device and process parameter monitoring — semiconductor process lines and production
Device modeling — semiconductor device design and integrated circuit design
Reliability and lifetime testing — semiconductor device reliability research
Characterization of high-power MOSFETs, BJTs and III-V devices (GaN, GaAs)
Nanodevice research;
Research on optoelectronic devices (LEDs, OLEDs, etc.);
Non-volatile memory testing—Flash memory, phase-change memory (PRAM), ferroelectric memory (FeRAM), resistive memory (RRAM), etc.;
Characterization of organic semiconductors
Characterization of solar cells and photovoltaic cells
Determine sample resistivity and Hall carrier concentration
Oxide thickness, gate area, series resistance, flat-band capacitance, voltage, turn-on voltage, body doping, effective oxide charge density, mobile charge, metal-semiconductor work function, Debye length, body potential, etc.

Standard C-V sweep:General MOSFETs, diodes, and capacitors;
MOScap:Measure C-V on MOS capacitors; extracted parameters include oxide capacitance, oxide thickness, doping concentration, depletion depth, Debye length, flat-band capacitance, flat-band voltage, body potential, threshold voltage, metal-semiconductor work function, and effective oxide charge;
MOSFET:Perform a C-V sweep on a MOSFET device. Extracted parameters include: oxide thickness, oxide capacitance, flat-band capacitance, flat-band voltage, threshold voltage, and doping concentration as a function of depletion depth;
Lifetime:Determine generation rate and perform lifetime testing (Zerbst plot);
Mobile ions: Determine and extract the flat-band voltage using the BTS method to identify mobile charge. This includes control of the hot chuck. Test the sample at room temperature, then heat it and test again, then cool back to room temperature to determine the flat-band voltage shift and thereby the mobile charge;
Capacitance: Perform C-V and C-f sweeps on metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors and calculate the standard deviation;
PN junction: Measure the capacitance of a P-N junction or Schottky diode as a function of its tip bias voltage;
Photovoltaic cell: Measure the forward and reverse DC characteristics of an illuminated solar cell and extract parameters: maximum power, maximum current, maximum voltage, short-circuit current, open-circuit voltage, and efficiency. Also perform C-V and C-f sweep characterization;
BJT: Measure terminal-to-terminal capacitances (at 0 V bias): Cbe, Cbc, Cec;
Interconnect capacitance: Measure the capacitance between small adjacent interconnects on a wafer;
Nanowire: Perform C-V sweeps on a two-terminal nanowire device;
Flash memory: Perform C-V measurements on a typical floating-gate flash memory device.

Carbon nanotubes, biochips/devices, carbon nanotube FETs, nanowires, molecular wires, molecular transistors, multi-terminal nanogrids
 Ultrafast I-V sourcing and measurement are becoming increasingly important across many technology areas, including compound semiconductors, medium-power devices, medium-power devices, non-volatile memory, MEMS (microelectromechanical devices), nanodevices, solar cells, and CMOS devices.

Pulsed I-VCharacterizing devices enables tasks that conventional DC methods cannot achieve, such as overcoming self-heating effects in nanodevices and addressing current drift resembling hysteresis caused by charge trapping effects in high-k gate dielectric devices.
Transient I-VTesting allows researchers to capture high-speed current or voltage waveforms. Pulsed signal sources can be used for stress testing in device reliability studies, or to perform erase and write operations on memory devices in multi-level pulse mode.
 General-purpose pulsed I-V device testing
CMOS device characterization: charge pumping, self-heating effects, charge trapping, NBTI/PBTI analysis
Non-volatile memory: flash memory, phase-change memory
Compound semiconductor devices and materials: LEDs and more
Nanodevices and MEMS, among others

What is the Keithley 4200-SCS Parameter Analyzer?

The Keithley 4200-SCS is a fully integrated, modular parameter analyzer for electrical characterization of devices, materials, and processes. With nine measurement slots and a built-in low-noise ground unit, it can be configured precisely to match your test requirements or budget.

DC I-V measurement is fundamental to device and material testing. The Keithley 4200-SCS source measure units (SMUs) are precision instruments that source current or voltage with high accuracy while measuring current and voltage simultaneously. The 4200-SCS supports a wide I-V measurement range, from sub-pA leakage measurements to µΩ resistance measurements.

Capacitance-voltage (C-V) testing is widely used to determine semiconductor parameters such as doping concentration and profile, carrier lifetime, oxide thickness, and interface state density. The Keithley 4200-SCS offers three C-V methods: multi-frequency C-V (1 kHz to 10 MHz), ultra-low-frequency C-V (10 mHz to 10 Hz), and quasi-static C-V.

When characterizing devices, pulsed I-V testing is ideal for preventing self-heating or minimizing charge trapping effects. By replacing DC signals with narrow pulses and/or low-duty-cycle pulses, key parameters can be extracted while preserving DUT performance. Transient I-V measurement lets scientists and engineers capture ultra-fast current or voltage waveforms in the time domain to study dynamic behavior.

Maintaining the quality and reliability of the gate oxide in MOS structures is a critical task in semiconductor fabs. Capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements are commonly used to study gate oxide quality in depth. Equipped with a C-V instrument module, the 4200-SCS simplifies the verification and analysis of MOS capacitor measurements. The 4200-SCS includes common measurement parameters such as oxide thickness, flat-band voltage, and threshold voltage.

Stress testing is commonly used to estimate the operating lifetime and wear-out failure of semiconductor devices. Standard wafer-level reliability (WLR) tests include hot carrier injection (HCI) or channel hot carrier (CHC), negative bias temperature instability (NBTI), and time-dependent dielectric breakdown (TDDB). Such data is used to evaluate device design and monitor the manufacturing process.

With its multi-pulse waveform generation and measurement capability in the ultra-fast I-V module, the Keithley 4200-SCS is purpose-built to address the challenges of advanced non-volatile memory devices. The powerful capabilities shown below let you meet virtually every NVM cell test requirement.

Nanotechnology research explores matter at the molecular and atomic level to build structures with entirely new properties. Current work includes devices based on carbon nanotubes, semiconductor nanowires, organic molecular electronics, and single-electron devices. Their physical dimensions are so small that these devices cannot be tested by standard methods. The Keithley 4200-SCS parameter analyzer offers an extensive library of test applications that lets you complete testing quickly and with confidence.

What is Automated Characterization Suite (ACS)?
Automated Characterization Suite (ACS) is a powerful software architecture that makes it easy for engineers to run a wide range of semiconductor device tests and analyze their characteristics in detail. ACS works with a broad selection of Keithley's industry-leading source measure unit (SMU) instruments and systems. With standard ACS, automated probers can be controlled at wafer or cassette level. For manual and single-device testing, consider ACS Basic Edition. For advanced wafer-level reliability testing of multiple devices under test, use standard ACS together with ACS-2600-RTM.

Parametric Test Automated Characterization Suite (ACS) supports process control monitoring (PCM) and other related applications. Its interactive graphical user interface (GUI) makes it well suited to low-volume production applications and lab applications involving a variety of semi-custom hardware configurations.

Die Sort Keithley offers high-speed solutions for on-wafer die sort or known good die (KGD) testing of semiconductor devices, sensors, MEMS, and small analog ICs, which can be tested and sorted using proprietary high-precision source measure unit (SMU) instruments or I-V instruments. The following sections discuss and introduce many of Keithley's measurement capabilities.

Wafer-Level Reliability Automated Characterization Suite (ACS) includes a variety of test modules and routines for HCI, NBTI, TDDB, EM, and more. In addition, Keithley's broad range of source measure unit instruments and systems has been extended to multi-channel parallel testing, ultra-fast NBTI, and ultra-high-voltage Vds breakdown testing. The following sections discuss and introduce many of Keithley's measurement capabilities.

IC device characterization involves creating and managing in-depth test and measurement results and parameter data for a wide range of IC devices and test structures, including MOSFETs, MOSCAPs, diodes, and reliability test results. The following discusses and introduces the many measurement capabilities of Keithley Instruments.

Component characterization involves creating and managing in-depth test and measurement results for discrete semiconductor devices such as MOSFETs, bipolar transistors, diodes, and high-power IGBTs. The following discusses and introduces the many measurement capabilities of Keithley Instruments.

Keithley Instruments has added pulse generation and measurement capability to its Model 4200 Semiconductor Characterization System, enabling pulsed semiconductor characterization.

The new PIV (pulsed I-V) subsystem facilitates cutting-edge research on high-k materials, thermally sensitive devices, and advanced memory chips, enabling more accurate measurements and faster time to market. It is reportedly the first commercial solution to integrate accurate, repeatable pulsed and DC measurements in one easy-to-use system. 

The pulsed I-V (PIV) subsystem is a new option for Keithley's Model 4200-SCS, a lab-grade system for precise DC characterization and analysis featuring sub-femtoamp current resolution and real-time plotting, data analysis, and processing. The system incorporates state-of-the-art semiconductor characterization capabilities, including an embedded PC running Windows XP with a large-capacity hard drive. 

The Pulse I-V (PIV) subsystem is built on a new dual-channel pulse generator card featuring two independent channels with a frequency range from 1 Hz to 50 MHz. It can generate pulses as short as 10 ns, enabling true isothermal pulse measurements on SOI and other 65 nm and smaller devices and processes. Precise slow control of pulse edges allows accurate sourcing and measurement for interface state, AC stress, and memory testing. Users can control several pulse parameters, such as pulse width, duty cycle, rise/fall time, amplitude, and offset. Combining pulsed functionality and measurement with the industry-leading DC characterization of the Model 4200-SCS is unique in the market. The new, patent-pending software bundled with the Pulse I-V (PIV) subsystem delivers improved accuracy and repeatability. The integrated software and user-friendly interface are easy to learn and use, so even non-expert users can quickly get up to speed and obtain excellent pulse I-V measurement results.

The PIV software controls the pulse generator and measurements, setting up and driving pulse generation on the dual-channel pulse generator, triggering, performing pulse measurements, and collecting and reporting data. The new PIV software suite includes cable compensation algorithms to ensure measurement integrity and a load-line correction scheme for accurate extraction of pulsed limit voltages.

 The PIV subsystem includes sample projects and code for performing pulse I-V and interface state testing, saving software development time and cost. The complete PIV subsystem shortens the learning curve for pulse measurements and allows multiple tests to be performed in a single system.

KeyFeatures and Benefits:
Intuitive, point-and-click Windows operating environment
Unique remote preamplifier extends SMU resolution to 0.1 fA
Built-in PC enables fast test setup, powerful data analysis, graphing and printing, and high-capacity storage of test results
Unique browser-style software interface organizes tests by device type, supports multiple tests, and provides test sequencing and looping control
Supports a range of peripherals, including the Keithley 590 and Agilent 4284 C-V meters, Keithley switch matrices, and the Agilent 81110 pulse generator
Hardware is controlled by the Keithley Interactive Test Environment (KITE)
User Test Module capability enables external instrument control and test platform integration, extending KITE functionality
Includes driver software supporting Cascade Microtech Summit12K series, Karl Suss PA-200, and Micromanipulator 8860 automated and manual probe stations

Easy-to-use4200-SCS Semiconductor Characterization SystemFor lab-grade DC device characterization, real-time plotting and analysis, with high precision and sub-fA resolution. It offers state-of-the-art system integration, including a fully embedded PC, Windows NT operating system and high-capacity storage. Its automated, point-and-click interface speeds and simplifies data acquisition, so users can begin analyzing test results sooner. The 4200-SCS offers great flexibility, with hardware options including switch matrices, Keithley and Agilent C-V meters, and pulse generators.

The 4200-SCS features a modular architecture for exceptional configuration flexibility. The system supports up to eight source-measure units, including up to four high-power SMUs with 1 A/20 W capability. The optional remote preamplifier, Model 4200-PA, effectively reduces noise contributed by long cables and extends each SMU by five low-current ranges, expanding measurement capability down to 0.1 fA. The preamplifier modules integrate seamlessly with the system, effectively extending SMU measurement resolution from the user's perspective.

Keithley Instruments introduces the new industry-leading4200-SCS
With integrated C-V module and software, C-V/I-V/pulse testing is more accurate and faster
Keithley Instruments (NYSE: KEI) has announced a new C-V measurement instrument for its powerful Model 4200-SCS semiconductor characterization system. The Model 4200-CVU is a C-V measurement module that plugs into a slot in the Model 4200-SCS, enabling fast and easy capacitance measurements from fF to nF over a frequency range of 10 kHz to 10 MHz. The innovative design of the Model 4200-CVU incorporates eight pending patents. It provides an intuitive point-and-click interface and built-in device modules for obtaining valid C-V measurement data, making C-V measurements easier for every user.

The Model 4200-CVU includes the most complete test library available, dramatically improving test efficiency. With Keithley's Model 4200-LS-LC-12—a purpose-built switch matrix, expansion card, cable, and adapter combination—tightly integrated C-V/I-V testing can be completed in a single measurement. The optional Model 4200-PROBER-KIT lets the Model 4200-SCS connect easily to the most common probes, creating a comprehensive C-V test system that is easy to set up and run for I-V testing.
Broad application support
With these latest additions to the 4200-SCS series, Keithley leads in C-V measurement, now covering the widest range of applications from a single semiconductor test instrument—across probe configurations, device types, process technologies, and measurement methods, including pulse I-V. The Model 4200-CVU and optional modules solve many of the problems other characterization systems face—either they lack integrated C-V/I-V/pulse capability, or they offer limited user interface and software library support. In addition, the system's flexibility and powerful test execution engine allow I-V, C-V, and pulse tests to be combined in the same test flow. As a result, the Model 4200-SCS replaces a variety of electronic test tools with one tightly integrated characterization solution.

Keithley's Model 4200-SCS also supports C-V/I-V/pulse along with other instrumentation and test methods, making the 4200-SCS/CVU solution well suited for:
• Semiconductor technology development / process development / reliability labs
• Materials and device research labs and consortia 
• Labs requiring benchtop DC or pulse instruments 
• Most semiconductor labs and users needing versatile, multi-instrument compact setups 

Powerful software

Model 4200-SCS offers a simpler, easier-to-use Windows GUI than other semiconductor characterization systems on the market. Developed from years of customer interaction and feedback, this ease of use extends to the new Model 4200-CVU hardware and software modules, a natural extension of its interactive test environment and execution engine. To support the Model 4200-CVU hardware, Keithley offers numerous sample programs, test libraries, and built-in parameter extraction examples that run out of the box.

Eight software libraries provide the broadest range of C-V testing and analysis. They cover all standard applications, including C-V, C-t, and C-f measurement and analysis, and support high- and low-k dielectric structures, MOSFETs, BJTs, diodes, flash memory, photovoltaic devices, III-V compound devices, and carbon nanotube (CNT) devices. In addition to junction, pad-to-pad, and interconnect capacitance, the analysis and parameter extraction software calculates doping, oxide thickness, mobile charge, carrier lifetime, and more. Test results include a variety of linear and custom C-V sweeps, as well as C-versus-time and C-versus-frequency sweeps.

Unlike other characterization systems, Keithley C-V/I-V analysis and extraction programs run in a well-documented, open environment, so users can easily modify and customize their procedures. Integrated example programs, based on application knowledge accumulated by Keithley engineers, help shorten development time. 

Model 4200-CVU also includes advanced diagnostic tools to help ensure the validity of C-V test results. Unsure whether your results are accurate? Simply click the on-screen "Confidence Check" button, or use the live front panel to isolate the test area for verification.
The Model 4200-SCS delivers the best user experience and the shortest learning curve. It solves many of the problems semiconductor lab managers face, helping them boost productivity and efficiency in device characterization and modeling.

Model 4200-CVUIts standout strengths are exceptional measurement accuracy, speed, and efficiency—driven by the Model 4200-SCS's high-speed digital measurement hardware, tight hardware-software integration, and Keithley's low-noise system design principles. Together, these advantages mean the Model 4200-CVU can significantly boost user productivity, whether the task is a simple single measurement setup, a mouse-click sequence of preconfigured test routines, or complex operations such as triggering and running multiple C-V sweeps. The system's high-speed digital architecture lets the Model 4200-CVU execute and configure C-V sweeps in real time, faster than any other vendor's C-V instrument. 

A highly versatile test environment 
Beyond integrating I-V/C-V/pulse test capabilities into one flexible, fully integrated test environment, Model 4200-SCS users have many other options. These include up to eight medium- or high-power SMUs, a dual-channel pulse and waveform generator, and an integrated digital oscilloscope. Like the Model 4200-CVU, these instruments plug into Model 4200-SCS slots and are controlled through the powerful Keithley Test Environment Interactive (KTEI, version 7.0) software environment. This point-and-click interface speeds up test setup, test routine control, and data analysis. KTEI also controls a wide range of external instruments, including most probe stations, heated chucks, test fixtures, and Keithley's high-integrity matrix switching, delivering the industry's highest connection flexibility.

Avoid rapid obsolescence 
Many instrument makers keep launching products that may not be compatible with one another, and each new release often means the previous generation must be retired—offering no protection for the customer's investment. Keithley's strategy of continuously upgrading the hardware and software of the Model 4200-SCS means the Model 4200-CVU module, along with all related software and optional hardware, can be updated on the very first Model 4200-SCS. This easy upgrade path frees customers from having to buy a new parameter analyzer every few years to keep pace with advances in device or material technology. Customers can upgrade their systems at low cost to meet the industry's evolving test requirements, extending the value of their Model 4200-SCS investment beyond that of other vendors' test solutions. In addition, the need for external hardware and custom test program development is minimized.