Tester-based optical and electrical diagnostic system and techniques

Abstract

This paper details tester-based optical and electrical diagnostic system and techniques that aim at diagnosing various types of problems that exist in today's VLSI chips, especially during initial bring-up stage. The versatility of the electrical test creates flexible test controls while optical diagnostic tools, such as emission-based systems, provide a deep understanding of what is going on inside the chip. Tightly integrating both methods produces a powerful diagnostic system and it also opens a door for creating a series of new diagnostic techniques for resolving new families of problems as illustrated in this paper with several examples.