Unlocking Value: The Power of AI in Semiconductor Test


AI (Artificial Intelligence) and data analytics empower semiconductor manufacturers to extract valuable insights from the massive amounts of data generated throughout the silicon lifecycle. By leveraging AI algorithms, semiconductor manufacturers can optimize silicon design, assembly, and testing processes. Through the analysis of vast datasets, AI can identify patterns, predict failures, and o... » read more

Sharing Secure Chip Data For Analytics


New approaches and standards are being developed to securely share manufacturing and test data across the supply chain, moves that have long been considered critical to the reliability of end devices and faster time to yield and profitability. It will take time before these methods become widespread in the IC supply chain. But there is increasing agreement these kinds of measures are essenti... » read more

Introduction To Test Data Formats


This blog is intended to provide an introduction to STDF and ATDF data formats. This is not intended to be definitive, only an introduction. If you are experienced with seeing data in spreadsheets and tables, then STDF is very different from what you are used to. Here we try to explain. STDF is the “Standard Test Data Format” developed jointly between some of the largest test equipment v... » read more

Adaptive Test Gains Ground


Not all devices get tested the same way anymore, and that’s a good thing. Quality, test costs, and yield have motivated product engineers to adopt test processes that fall under the umbrella of adaptive test, which uses test data to modify a subsequent test process. But to execute such techniques requires logistics that support analysis of data, as well as enabling changes to a test based ... » read more

Practical Ways To Reduce Test Time


If someone said that paper never refused ink, they could have said the same about test programs and tests. Early on in my career as a test development engineer, I commented out all tests except the key test for the new product I was working on. This allowed me to isolate the test and fix its repeatability. The next pre-production run finished much earlier than I expected and I was impressed ... » read more

Utilizing More Data To Improve Chip Design


Just about every step of the IC tool flow generates some amount of data. But certain steps generate a mind-boggling amount of data, not all of which is of equal value. The challenge is figuring out what's important for which parts of the design flow. That determines what to extract and loop back to engineers, and when that needs to be done in order to improve the reliability of increasingly com... » read more

Using Data Analytics More Effectively


The semiconductor industry is under a lot of pressure from their customers nowadays. They’re expected to keep up with consumer expectations for shorter electronic product life cycles, without compromising on the reliability and quality of the components and products coming off the line. A recent article from McKinsey & Company, however, describes how quality procedures have become a bottl... » read more

Finally, Realizing The Full Benefits Of Parallel Site-To-Site (S2S) Testing


A very common and well-known practice by manufacturers during the IC test process is to test as many of the device die or packaged parts as possible in parallel (i.e. sites) during wafer sort and final test in order to increase test time efficiency and lower overall test costs. The constraints that typically restrict how many test sites can be used at any given time are the design I/O and capac... » read more