Optimization of integrated circuit reliability
First Claim
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1. A method for optimizing reliability of integrated circuits, the method comprising:
- a computer integrating a per-chip equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) circuit sensor into an integrated circuit,the computer utilizing the per-chip EOT circuit sensor to determine electrical characteristics of the integrated circuit;
the computer determining physical attributes of the integrated circuit as a function of the determined electrical characteristics;
the computer modeling a predicted integrated circuit failure rate using the determined physical attributes of the integrated circuit;
the computer defines circuits, tests and pass/fail criteria required to meet qualification objectives of a technology and/or product, wherein the qualification objectives includes a plan comprising a list of required hardware along with defined tests that the hardware is to be subjected, and pass/fail criteria; and
the computer accessing EOT sensor circuit data stored in a database and using the EOT sensor circuit data to calculate an oxide thickness value for subsequent reliability modeling of the integrated circuit.
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Abstract
A per-chip equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) circuit sensor resides in an integrated circuit. The per-chip EOT circuit sensor determines electrical characteristics of the integrated circuit. The measured electrical characteristics include leakage current. The determined electrical characteristics are used to determine physical attributes of the integrated circuit. The physical attributes, including EOT, are used in a reliability model to predict per-chip failure rate.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A method for optimizing reliability of integrated circuits, the method comprising:
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a computer integrating a per-chip equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) circuit sensor into an integrated circuit, the computer utilizing the per-chip EOT circuit sensor to determine electrical characteristics of the integrated circuit; the computer determining physical attributes of the integrated circuit as a function of the determined electrical characteristics; the computer modeling a predicted integrated circuit failure rate using the determined physical attributes of the integrated circuit; the computer defines circuits, tests and pass/fail criteria required to meet qualification objectives of a technology and/or product, wherein the qualification objectives includes a plan comprising a list of required hardware along with defined tests that the hardware is to be subjected, and pass/fail criteria; and the computer accessing EOT sensor circuit data stored in a database and using the EOT sensor circuit data to calculate an oxide thickness value for subsequent reliability modeling of the integrated circuit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A computer program product for optimizing reliability of integrated circuits, the computer program product comprising:
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one or more computer-readable storage media and program instructions stored on the one or more computer-readable storage media, the program instructions comprising; program instructions to utilize a per-chip equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) circuit sensor to determine electrical characteristics of an integrated circuit; program instructions to determine physical attributes of the integrated circuit as a function of the determined electrical characteristics; program instructions to predict integrated circuit failure rate using the determined physical attributes of the integrated circuit; program instructions to define circuits, tests and pass/fail criteria required to meet qualification objectives of a technology and/or product; and program instructions access EOT sensor circuit data stored in a database and use the EOT sensor circuit data to calculate an oxide thickness value for subsequent reliability modeling of the integrated circuit. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10)
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Specification