REVIEW OF SEMICONDUCTOR MICROELECTRONIC TEST STRUCTURES WITH APPLICATIONS TO INFRARED DETECTOR MATERIALS AND PROCESSES

The impact of microelectronic test structures, as they have been applied to silicon integrated circuits (ICS) and gallium arsenide monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICS), is reviewed. General principles for the use of test structures with possible applications to infrared (IR) detector technology based on HgCdTe and other materials are emphasized. The uses of test structures for Si and GaAs, test chip design methodology and some examples of how test structures have been applied for process control and to increase yield are discussed. Specific test structures and techniques that have been applied to IR detectors are also reviewed. The basic design considerations and measurements possible with each class of test structure are discussed. The important experience of the Si and GaAs industries, applicable to IR detectors, is that significant yield improvement is possible with improved process control using test structures. Increased research efforts to expand the applications of test structures to IR detector manufacture are indicated.