Small-Delay Defect Detection in the Presence of Process Variations

Rajeshwary Tayade1,  Savithri Sundareswaran2,  Jacob Abraham1
1University of Texas at Austin, 2Freescale Semiconductor


Abstract

Interconnect based defects such as resistive via are be- coming more prevalent in nanoscale designs. Such defects can be classified as latent defects that affect circuit reliabil- ity and are generally modeled as small-delay defects. One method to detect these defects is to estimate the slack inter- val of the path being tested. In the presence of process vari- ations, however, it is difficult to determine if the deviation in circuit delay is due to random process parameters or due to the presence of a latent defect. In this paper we analyze resistive interconnect defects (in this context) and suggest a test approach that will increase the probability of detection of small-delay defects that can otherwise escape detection due to the uncertainity caused by process variations.