Circuit Lifetime Simulation Using Wearout Mechanism Modeling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current semiconductor simulation methods fail to accurately estimate the lifetime of circuits due to limitations in modeling wearout mechanisms such as bias temperature instability (BTI), hot carrier injection (HCI), gate oxide breakdown, and dielectric breakdown, which leads to increased system failure rates and significant redesign costs.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a processor that extracts features from a circuit layout, computes lifetime distributions based on thermal, activity, and voltage profiles, and models wearout mechanisms using multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) to estimate circuit lifetime, incorporating error correction and stress profiles to simulate accelerated aging tests.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If high-temperature operating life (HTOL) tests are performed to determine circuit reliability, then failure rates can be detected, but development time and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing lifetime simulation during the circuit design phase, before manufacturing and reliability testing. The simulation predicts circuit lifetime based on design parameters, allowing reliability assessment to occur in advance, thus avoiding delays associated with waiting for physical HTOL test results.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses copying by creating a virtual model of the circuit that replicates its electrical and thermal behavior. This digital twin allows reliability simulation without requiring physical prototypes, enabling multiple design iterations without the time and cost of manufacturing actual test samples.
2Productivity
If new materials and processes are used in technology scaling, then device performance improves, but reliability becomes more uncertain and failure rates increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies parameter changes by incorporating the effects of new materials and manufacturing processes into the simulation model. The lifetime simulation accounts for variations in material properties and process parameters, allowing designers to assess how these changes impact reliability and adjust design parameters accordingly to maintain or improve system reliability despite technology scaling.
3Productivity
If circuit designs are optimized for performance, then productivity increases, but vulnerability to reliability problems increases due to higher operating stresses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by using lifetime simulation to predict and prevent reliability failures before they occur in the field. The simulation identifies designs that are vulnerable to failure under high-performance operating conditions, allowing designers to modify the design in advance to eliminate these vulnerabilities before manufacturing and deployment.
4Reliability
If redesign is performed after reliability testing failures, then reliability can be improved, but development cost and time-to-market increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing lifetime simulation during the design phase to identify and correct reliability issues before manufacturing. This prevents the need for costly post-manufacturing redesigns, as problems are detected and resolved when design changes are still inexpensive to implement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potential harm of reliability failures into a benefit by using simulation to predict failures before they occur. What would otherwise be costly field failures or late-stage design changes are transformed into inexpensive virtual tests that guide design optimization, turning a negative outcome into a design improvement opportunity.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the disclosed technology include a method including extracting, by a processor, a plurality of features from one from among a layout of a circuit, a netlist of the circuit, and the layout and the netlist of the circuit; computing, by the processor, respective lifetime distributions of the plurality of extracted features based on at least one circuit profile; and estimating, by the processor, a lifetime of the circuit by combining the respective lifetime distributions of the plurality of extracted features.