IP Library Granted Patent US 9,760,673
Granted Patent B2
US 9,760,673 · App. 15/012,331 · Granted Sep 12, 2017

Application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) test screens and selection of such screens

Inventors: Eric D. Hunt-Schroeder (South Burlington, VT); John R. Goss (Saint Albans, VT); Igor Arsovski (Williston, VT); Paul J. Grzymkowski (Montpelier, VT)
Assignee: GLOBALFOUNDRIES INC.
G06F17/5081G06F2217/64
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,760,673
App. No.
15/012,331
Granted
Sep 12, 2017
Kind
B2
Abstract

Various embodiments include approaches for analyzing a customer design for an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). In some cases, an approach includes: determining performance requirements of the customer design; querying a test screen database for the performance requirements of the customer design, the test screen database having failure thresholds and associated test screens for detecting the failure thresholds for a set of ASIC devices; generating a filter database including select failure thresholds and associated test screens for the performance requirements of the customer design; and selecting a set of test screens from the filter database based upon a yield cost criteria in forming the ASIC.

Claims (51)

1. A system comprising:

at least one computing device configured to analyze a customer design for an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) by performing actions including:

determining performance requirements of the customer design;

querying a test screen database for the performance requirements of the customer design, the test screen database having failure thresholds and associated test screens for detecting the failure thresholds for a set of ASIC devices;

generating a filter database including select failure thresholds and associated test screens for the performance requirements of the customer design; and

selecting a set of test screens from the filter database based upon a yield cost criteria in forming the ASIC.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to:

compile the set of test screens in an ordered test screen process.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to:

apply the ordered test screen process to the customer design for the ASIC.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to:

refresh the test screen database based upon new failure thresholds and associated test screens for detecting the new failure thresholds for the set of ASIC devices.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to:

query the refreshed test screen database for the performance requirements of the customer design after refreshing the test screen database;

generate a refined filter database including select failure thresholds and associated test screens for the performance requirements of the customer design based upon the refreshed test screen database; and

select a set of test screens from the refined filter database based upon the yield cost criteria in forming the ASIC and a cost of performing each test screen of the set of test screens.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the performance requirements of the customer design include at least one of a processing speed of the ASIC, a voltage of the ASIC or an operating temperature of the ASIC.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the failure thresholds indicate an acceptable percentage of ASIC devices formed according to the customer design which will fail due to a time zero failure or an operating life failure.

8. A computer program product comprising program code stored on a non-transitory computer-readable medium, which when executed by at least one computing device, causes the at least one computing device to analyze a customer design for an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) by performing actions including:

determining performance requirements of the customer design;

querying a test screen database for the performance requirements of the customer design, the test screen database having failure thresholds and associated test screens for detecting the failure thresholds for a set of ASIC devices;

generating a filter database including select failure thresholds and associated test screens for the performance requirements of the customer design; and

selecting a set of test screens from the filter database based upon a yield cost criteria in forming the ASIC.

9. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the program code further causes the at least one computing device to:

compile the set of test screens in an ordered test screen process.

10. The computer program product of claim 9 , wherein the program code further causes the at least one computing device to:

apply the ordered test screen process to the customer design for the ASIC.

11. The computer program product of claim 10 , wherein the program code further causes the at least one computing device to:

refresh the test screen database based upon new failure thresholds and associated test screens for detecting the new failure thresholds for the set of ASIC devices.

12. The computer program product of claim 11 , wherein the program code further causes the at least one computing device to:

query the refreshed test screen database for the performance requirements of the customer design after refreshing the test screen database;

generate a refined filter database including select failure thresholds and associated test screens for the performance requirements of the customer design based upon the refreshed test screen database; and

select a set of test screens from the refined filter database based upon the yield cost criteria in forming the ASIC and a cost of performing each test screen of the set of test screens.

13. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the performance requirements of the customer design include at least one of a processing speed of the ASIC, a voltage of the ASIC or an operating temperature of the ASIC.

14. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the failure thresholds indicate an acceptable percentage of ASIC devices formed according to the customer design which will fail due to a time zero failure or an operating life failure.

15. A computer-implemented method of analyzing a customer design for an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), performed on at least one computing device, the method comprising:

determining performance requirements of the customer design;

querying a test screen database for the performance requirements of the customer design, the test screen database having failure thresholds and associated test screens for detecting the failure thresholds for a set of ASIC devices;

generating a filter database including select failure thresholds and associated test screens for the performance requirements of the customer design; and

selecting a set of test screens from the filter database based upon a yield cost criteria in forming the ASIC.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15 , further comprising:

compiling the set of test screens in an ordered test screen process.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16 , further comprising:

applying the ordered test screen process to the customer design for the ASIC.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 17 , further comprising:

refreshing the test screen database based upon new failure thresholds and associated test screens for detecting the new failure thresholds for the set of ASIC devices.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 18 , the method further comprising:

querying the refreshed test screen database for the performance requirements of the customer design after refreshing the test screen database;

generating a refined filter database including select failure thresholds and associated test screens for the performance requirements of the customer design based upon the refreshed test screen database; and

selecting a set of test screens from the refined filter database based upon the yield cost criteria in forming the ASIC and a cost of performing each test screen of the set of test screens.

20. The computer-implemented method of claim 15 , wherein the performance requirements of the customer design include at least one of a processing speed of the ASIC, a voltage of the ASIC or an operating temperature of the ASIC, and wherein the failure thresholds indicate an acceptable percentage of ASIC devices formed according to the customer design which will fail due to a time zero failure or an operating life failure.

Assignments (7)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Nov 20, 2020
From: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
To: GLOBALFOUNDRIES INC.
Reel/Frame 054636/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jun 16, 2020
From: CAVIUM INTERNATIONAL
To: MARVELL ASIA PTE, LTD.
Reel/Frame 053475/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 20, 2020
From: MARVELL INTERNATIONAL LTD.
To: CAVIUM INTERNATIONAL
Reel/Frame 052918/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 20, 2019
From: GLOBALFOUNDRIES U.S. INC.
To: MARVELL INTERNATIONAL LTD.
Reel/Frame 051070/0625 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 21, 2019
From: GLOBALFOUNDRIES INC.
To: GLOBALFOUNDRIES U.S. INC.
Reel/Frame 050122/0001 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Nov 29, 2018
From: GLOBALFOUNDRIES INC.
To: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
Reel/Frame 049490/0001 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 2, 2016
From: HUNT-SCHROEDER, ERIC D.; GOSS, JOHN R.; ARSOVSKI, IGOR; GRZYMKOWSKI, PAUL J.
To: GLOBALFOUNDRIES INC.
Reel/Frame 037640/0585 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20170220727A1 · Aug 3, 2017