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Excerpt Edition
This PDF is an excerpt from Chapter 1
of the Parametric Measurement Handbook.
The
Parametric Measurement
Handbook
Third Edition
March 2012
Chapter 1: Parametric Test Basics
"The central activity of engineering, as distinguished from science, is the design
of new devices, processes and systems." -- Myron Tribus
What is parametric test?
The question as to what constitutes parametric test is an interesting one and is
possibly open to some debate. Nevertheless, in general parametric test involves
the electrical testing and characterization of four main types of semiconductor
devices: resistors, diodes, transistors, and capacitors. This is not to say that
parametric test never involves the testing of other device types; however, the
vast majority of parametric test structures can be classified into one of these
categories or considered to be a combination of these categories.
Transistors Diodes Resistors Capacitors
Figure 1.1. Parametric test involves the testing of these four basic device types.
The vast majority of parametric testing involves either current versus voltage
(IV) or capacitance versus voltage (CV) measurements.
To many people parametric test means "DC" testing, but this is not an accurate
description. Of course, it can take source/monitor units (SMUs) anywhere from
milliseconds to seconds to make a measurement, which is certainly "slow" by
the standards of functional testers (which typically perform measurements in
the nanosecond or picosecond range). However, in recent years the need to
perform extremely fast parametric measurements (1