Monitoring IC Abnormalities Before Failures


The rising complexities of semiconductor processes and design are driving an increasing use of on-chip monitors to support data analytics from an IC’s birth through its end of life — no matter how long that projected lifespan. Engineers have long used on-chip circuitry to assist with manufacturing test, silicon debug and failure analysis. Providing visibility and controllability of inter... » read more

Sensing Automotive IC Failures


The sooner you detect a failure in any electronic system, the sooner you can act. Together, data analytics and on-chip sensors are poised to boost quality in auto chips and add a growing level of predictive maintenance for vehicles. The ballooning number of chips cars makes it difficult to reach 10 defective parts per billion for every IC that goes into a car.  And requiring that for a 15-y... » read more

Customized On-Chip Process Monitors


The sensitivity of digital circuits to process variations is continuously increasing with scaling in MOSFET devices. The effect of process variations has a substantial impact on the power, performance, and reliability of products. These process variations can be local or across the chip or wafer-to-wafer, or even lot-to-lot. These process variations need to be observed and analyzed in order to ... » read more