Continuous Voltage Binning via Leakage Current Curve Fitting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The increasing significance of static power consumption in semiconductor devices, particularly in portable electronics, poses challenges in maintaining battery life and operational efficiency due to manufacturing variations, necessitating effective binning strategies that balance testing time and yield.
Innovation Solution
A curve-fitting process is employed to create and assign bins based on operating voltage versus leakage current data, allowing for the generation of equations that determine optimal testing and operating voltages for integrated circuits, thereby reducing unnecessary testing and improving yield while maintaining power efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the number of test voltages (bin voltages) is increased to improve binning accuracy and yield, then manufacturing yield and power optimization are improved, but test time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter of bin voltage from multiple discrete voltages to a continuous range defined by a fitted curve. By fitting a curve to leakage current vs. voltage data and defining bins based on this continuous model, the system achieves accurate binning with fewer test points, reducing test time while maintaining or improving yield.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of testing at every possible voltage point across the entire voltage range, the patent uses curve fitting to model the leakage behavior and only tests at selected voltages. This partial action approach captures sufficient data to define the curve accurately without the excessive time cost of comprehensive testing at all voltages.
2Loss of time
If the number of bins is reduced to decrease test time, then test time is reduced, but power consumption optimization and yield decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the bin definition from discrete voltage thresholds to a continuous curve-based model. By fitting a curve to the leakage-voltage relationship and defining bins based on this continuous model, the system achieves accurate binning with fewer test points, reducing test time while maintaining or improving yield.
3Ease of manufacture
If traditional binning with fixed voltage thresholds is used, then binning is simple to implement, but accuracy in representing the population data is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes from fixed voltage threshold parameters to dynamic curve-based parameters. By fitting a curve to the leakage-voltage data and using this curve to define bin boundaries, the system achieves accurate representation of the population data while maintaining practical implementability through automated curve fitting and evaluation.
Data Source
AI summary
A binning process uses curve fitting to create and assign one or more bins based on testing data of operating voltage versus leakage current for test integrated circuits. Each bin is created by assigning an initial operating voltage to the bin and fitting a curve to the testing data population. An equation is generated describing the fitted curve. Integrated circuits are binned by measuring the leakage current at a selected operating voltage and testing the integrated circuit at one or more operating voltages determined based on the fitted curves. The integrated circuits are assigned a maximum operating voltage that corresponds to the lowest tested operating voltage at which the integrated circuit passes the test.