Embedded Memory Diagnosis: An Industrial Workflow

Abstract

Embedded memory modules are sensitive components that deeply influence production yield of integrated devices. For fast yield improvement, an efficient manufacturing test must supply advanced defect characterization that helps in discovering technology weaknesses and finding strategies for improvement. This paper presents an industrial workflow for embedded memory diagnosis. It is based on the integration of March-based diagnostic BIST hardware in an IEEE 1500-compliant environment, and on a novel diagnostic algorithm for determining the fault model associated to the retrieved syndromes. An experimental implementation showing the feasibility of the approach is presented