Component testing and recovery

• US 7,404,117 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2005
• Issued: 07/22/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Rambus Inc.
• Original Assignee: Inapac Technology Incorporated (Rambus Inc.)
• Inventors: Ong, Adrian E., Egan, Richard G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Louis-Jacques, Jacques
• Assistant Examiner(s): Tabone, Jr., John J
• Application Number:
  US11/258,484
• Publication Number:
  US 20070094555A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,002 Days
• Field of Search: 714/718, 324/359
• US Class Current: 714/718
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 2229/743 After packaging
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 2229/763 E-fuses, e.g. electric fuses or antifuses, floating gate transistors
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 29/56 External testing equipment for static stores, e.g. automatic test equipment [ATE]; Interfaces therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 29/76 using address translation or modifications
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 29/81 using a hierarchical redundancy scheme
• CPC Class Codes: G11C 29/846 by choosing redundant lines at an output stage

Abstract

Disclosed are systems and methods of producing electronic devices. These electronic devices include excess circuits to be used as replacements for circuits that are found to be defective within the electronic device. The excess circuits are included in a different device component than the circuits that are found to be defective. The replacement process occurs after the excess circuits and defective circuits are included in an electronic device including the different device components. Identification of the defective circuits may occur before or after the defective circuits are incorporated in the electronic device. In some embodiments, systems and methods of the invention result in improved manufacturing yields as compared with the prior art.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a first device component including a plurality of circuits configured for storing test data generated through testing of the first device component, the test data including an identity of a defective circuit within the first device;

a second device component including an excess circuit configurable to replace the defective circuit of the first device component;

a third device component configured for reading the test data stored in the first device component and replacing the defective circuit with the excess circuit; and

an electronic device packaging incorporating the first device component, the second device component, and the third device component.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the test data is stored in the first device component prior to incorporation of the first device component in the electronic device packaging.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the third device component is further configured to read the test data after incorporation of the third device component in the electronic device packaging.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first device component includes a memory component.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the second device component includes an ASIC.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the ASIC includes a memory controller configured to receive computing instructions configured for replacing the defective circuit with the excess circuit.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the third device component includes an interface coupled to an external connector shared by the first device component and the second device component.

8. A method comprising:

testing a first device component to generate test data, the first device component including a plurality of circuits;

storing the test data in one or more of the plurality of circuits, the test data including an identity of a defective circuit within the plurality of circuits;

incorporating the first device component in an electronic device packaging after storing the test data;

incorporating a second device component in the electronic device packaging, the second device component including an excess circuit configurable to replace the defective circuit of the first device component; and

reading the test data stored in the first device component and substituting the excess circuit for the defective circuit using the read test data.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising incorporating a third device component in the electronic device, the third device component configured to read the test data stored in the first device component.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein third device component is further configured for programming the second device component to substitute the excess circuit for the defective circuit using the read test data.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the first device component is incorporated into the electronic device at a different time than the second device component.

12. The method of claim 8, further comprising testing the first device component after substituting the excess circuit for the defective circuit and using results of the further testing to another excess circuit for another defective circuit in the first device component.