A new application-specific FIB system architecture

Time-to-market is a key factor that often determines the economic success or failure of new integrated circuit designs. The key being that the first company to market a new IC commands a substantial price margin before competitors release their products. Any tool that can reduce the debug and verification time for new designs provides an important competitive advantage. FIB ''Cut & Paste'' systems and electron beam probers are two such tools whose importance is increasing as IC design rules shrink below 0.5 mu m. Little attempt, so far, has been made to exploit directly the synergy between these two technologies and thereby streamline still further IC debug and verification. A new FIB system is presented. The architecture is designed to take advantage of the synergy between e-beam and FIB technologies. The goal is to minimize diagnosis cycle time and thereby improve overall engineering productivity.