Systems and methods are disclosed for testing semiconductors at the wafer
level, specifically, systems and methods are disclosed that quantify
line-edge roughness in terms of electrical properties and the impact of
the line-edge roughness on device reliability and performance. A voltage
ramp dielectric breakdown (VRDB) test is used to measure the breakdown
voltage of the inter-digitated fingers of a semiconductor device. The
distribution of breakdown voltage is used to measure the median breakdown
voltage and the outliers which fan the extrinsic tail. Thereby, VRDB is
used to quantify the impact LER will have on device reliability and
performance. The systems and methods also provide a feedback tool to the
fabrication process to control line edge roughness to a desired
specification.