Characterizing within-die variation from multiple supply port IDDQ measurements

-- The importance of within-die process variation and its impact on product yield has increased significantly with scaling. Within-die variation is typically monitored by embedding characterization circuits in product chips. In this work, we propose a minimally-invasive, low-overhead technique for characterizing within-die variation. The proposed technique monitors within-die variation by measuring quiescent (IDDQ) currents at multiple power supply ports during wafer-probe test. We show that the spatially distributed nature of power ports enables spatial observation of process variation. We demonstrate our methodology on an experimental test-chip fabricated in 65-nm technology. The measurement results show that the IDDQ currents drawn by multiple power supply ports correlate very well with the variation trends introduced by state-dependent leakage patterns.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2009
• Where: ICCAD
• Authors: Kanak Agarwal, Dhruva Acharyya, Jim Plusquellic
• Keywords: Hardware, ICCAD 2009, Multiple Power Supply, Process Variation, Within-die Process Variation