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SEMATECH Engineers Develop Colorful Testing Device to Ease High-k/Metal Search SEMATECH engineers have developed an eye-catching test device that allows semiconductor technologists to measure the important electrical characteristic of work function on a single wafer, saving time and increasing accuracy.The device is a specially processed wafer called a terraced oxide substrate, but more humorously dubbed "the wedding cake" by developers within SEMATECH's Front End Processes (FEP) Division. It contains a stairstep-like pattern of oxide thicknesses - typically ranging in depth from 20 to 100 angstroms - in a series of four wide, concentric circles. A high-k/metal stack then can be deposited on the entire wafer, after which the work function can be measured on the resulting collection of oxide-and-metal stacks. Work function pertains to the ability to turn a transistor on and off, and is critical to gate functionality.
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