Upgrade for Model 4200-SCS Semiconductor Characterization System Expands C‑V, I-V, and Pulsed I-V Characterization

The KTEI V7.1 upgrade incorporates a number of innovative features and functions that broaden the capabilities of the Model 4200-CVU (Capacitance-Voltage Unit), including software support for characterizing higher power semiconductor devices at up to 200VDC (or 400V differential) and up to 300mA. This capability is useful for engineers working with laterally diffused MOS (LDMOS) and other higher power semiconductor devices in automotive, display, MEMS, and other high power applications. KTEI V7.1 also adds software support for other new functions:



· Differential DC bias

· Quasistatic C‑V testing

· An expanded set of device test libraries

· A variety of software enhancements designed to speed and simplify testing

Higher Power Testing Support



The new Model 4200-CVU-PWR C‑V Power Package hardware option is designed to work in tandem with the C-V software tools in KTEI V7.1 to allow C‑V testing of high power devices at up to 200VDC (or 400VDC differential) and at up to 300mA. Such C‑V testing is required for design, testing, and modeling of automotive electrical devices, MEMS, laterally diffused MOS (LDMOS), displays, and other higher power devices. With the addition of Keithley’s Model 4200-CVU-PWR CV Power Package, the Model 4200-SCS now has the ability to support higher power C-V, pulse I-V (current-voltage), and DC I-V applications all in the same chassis.



Another important capability included in the upgrade is the use of differential DC biases. The Model 4200-CVU integrated C-V instrument’s symmetrical circuitry, combined with a flash memory upgrade, allows applying up to 60V of differential DC bias on both C-V HI and C-V LO terminals. Keithley is the first parametric analyzer vendor to offer this unique capability, allowing more flexible control over the electric fields of devices being tested. This feature is especially useful for device modeling of unique devices such as nano components. The 4200-CVU firmware upgrade is included in KTEI V7.1, so there’s no need to return the unit to the factory for reprogramming.



The software upgrade supports a novel quasistatic C‑V measurement technique, the Ramp Rate Method, which uses the Model 4200-SCS’s existing SMUs and preamplifiers. Quasistatic C‑V techniques are appropriate for characterizing low power CMOS, high-k dielectrics, display devices, and other low leakage devices.



Keithley’s Model 4200-SCS replaces a variety of electrical test tools with a single, tightly integrated characterization solution and is ideal for a wide variety of applications including semiconductor technology development, process development, and materials research in reliability labs, materials and device research labs and consortia, as well as any lab needing a benchtop DC or pulse instrument. Keithley has continually enhanced the Model 4200-SCS’s hardware and software ever since its introduction. This commitment to ongoing system innovation assures a cost-effective upgrade path, so users don’t have to buy a new parametric analyzer because their old one is obsolete. Systems can be upgraded cost-effectively to keep up with the industry's evolving test needs, so capital investments in the Model 4200-SCS stretch much further than with competitive test solutions.