The Evolution of Ultra-Fast I-V Measurement Techniques

The ability to make ultra-fast I-V measurements is essential to developing new materials, devices, or processes. Early implementations of high-speed I-V testing were developed to address applications such as characterizing high-k dielectrics and Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) isothermal testing or to generate the short pulses necessary to characterize flash memory devices. Today, ultra-fast I-V source and measurement capabilities are available for characterizing a growing range of device characteristics, particularly Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI) and Positive Bias Temperature Instability (PBTI) degradation. By allowing researchers to make these device reliability measurements quickly and consistently, these tools improve the accuracy of Designed-In Reliability (DIR) lifetime measurements, which support modeling for device and circuit design.