On-chip sensor for monitoring active circuits on integrated circuit (IC) chips

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10191108-B2
Application number	US-201514945520-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 19, 2015
Priority date	Nov 19, 2015
Publication date	Jan 29, 2019
Grant date	Jan 29, 2019

Abstract

A sensor for on-chip monitoring the effects of operating conditions on a circuit, Integrated Circuit (IC) chips including the sensors, and a method of monitoring operating condition effects on-chip circuits, e.g., for the occurrence of electromigration. The sensor includes a multi-fingered driver associated with a monitored circuit, sensitive to known circuit parameter sensitivities. Sense and control logic circuit selectively driving the multi-fingered driver, and selectively monitoring for an expected multi-fingered driver response.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sensor for monitoring for the effects of operating conditions, said sensor comprising:
a multi-fingered driver associated with a monitored circuit on an integrated circuit (IC) chip, said monitored circuit having known parameter sensitivities, said multi-fingered driver being sensitive to one or more of said known parameter sensitivities;
a load capacitor selected to load said multi-fingered driver for a particular monitored sensitivity from the one or more said known parameter sensitivities;
a fail threshold for the particular monitored sensitivity of the sensor set higher than a threshold of the monitored circuit so that the sensor fails before said monitored circuit;
a load driven by said multi-fingered driver;
a sense and control logic circuit providing a drive signal selectively driving said multi-fingered driver, and selectively monitoring said load across fingers of the multi-fingered driver for detecting the fail threshold of the particular monitored sensitivity at any of said fingers to identify impending IC chip failure.

2. A sensor as in claim 1 , wherein said IC chip is a CMOS IC chip and said multi-fingered driver is a CMOS driver including at least two field effect transistors (FETs) comprising a p-type PET (PFET) and an n-type FET (NFLT).

3. A sensor as in claim 2 , wherein said CMOS driver is a multi-fingered inverter, said NI-ET is a fingered NFET and said PFET is a fingered NFET, the gate of said fingered NFET and the gate of said fingered PFET being selectively driven from said sense and control logic circuit.

4. A sensor as in claim 3 , wherein said the gate of said fingered NFET and the gate of said fingered PFET are selectively independently driven from said sense and control logic circuit.

5. A sensor as in claim 2 , wherein said sense and control logic circuit comprises:
control logic receiving select signals and providing said drive signal responsive to sensor selection; and
sense logic monitoring said load responsive to sensor selection and providing an indication whether said multi-fingered driver responded as expected.

6. A sensor as in claim 5 , further comprising a control logic buffer receiving said drive signal and driving the gate of said fingered NFET and the gate of said fingered PFET.

7. A sensor as in claim 5 , wherein said CMOS driver is one of a plurality of a CMOS drivers having a sensitivity range to one of said one or more known parameter sensitivities.

8. A sensor as in claim 5 , wherein said one or more known parameter sensitivities is a plurality of known sensitivities, said CMOS driver is one of a plurality of a CMOS drivers, each said CMOS driver having a sensitivity to a different one of said plurality of known sensitivities.

9. A sensor as in claim 1 , wherein said sensor monitors said monitored circuit for the effects of one or more of circuit temperature, circuit voltage, biased-temperature instability (BTI), hot carrier effects, and electromigration.

10. An Integrated Circuit (IC) chip comprising:
one or more circuits having known parameter sensitivities; and
one or more sensors monitoring at least one of said one or more circuits, each of said one or more sensors being sensitive to a selected known parameter sensitivity responsive to local operating conditions for the respective circuit, each of said one or more sensors comprising:
at least one multi-fingered driver having parameter sensitivities selected to be sensitive one or more of said known parameter sensitivities,
a load capacitor to load said multi-fingered driver with a selected monitored sensitivity from the one or more said known parameter sensitivities;
a sensor fail threshold for the selected monitored sensitivity set higher than a threshold of the monitored circuit so that the sensor fails before said monitored circuit;
a load driven by said at least one multi-fingered driver, and
a sense and control logic circuit providing a drive signal selectively driving said multi-fingered driver, and selectively monitoring said load across fingers of the multi-fingered driver for detecting the fail threshold of the particular monitored sensitivity at said fingers whereby an identified failure in the multi-fingered driver indicates a catastrophic failure is occurring or is about to occur,

the one or more sensors monitor neighboring one or more circuits to facilitate monitoring for fails and adjusting for those fails to maintain IC chip reliability by limiting down time from failing IC chips.

11. A CMOS IC chip as in claim 10 , wherein said at least one sensor is a plurality of sensors monitoring different ones of said one or more circuits.

12. A CMOS IC chip as in claim 11 , wherein said at least one sensor is a plurality of sensors comprising a sensor array, said CMOS IC chip further comprises a control logic buffer receiving said drive signal, and said sense and control logic circuit comprises:
control logic receiving select signals and providing said drive signal responsive to sensor selection; and
sense logic monitoring said load responsive to sensor selection and providing an indication whether said multi-fingered driver responded as expected.

13. A CMOS IC chip as in claim 12 , wherein said plurality of sensors in said sensor array have sensitivity ranges to different selected said known parameter sensitivities.

14. A CMOS IC chip as in claim 10 , wherein said multi-fingered driver is a CMOS driver including at least two field effect transistors (FETs) comprising a p-type FET (PFET) and an n-type FET (NFET).

15. A CMOS IC chip as in claim 10 , wherein said CMOS driver is a multi-fingered inverter, said NFET is a fingered NFET and said PFET is a fingered NFET, the gate of said fingered NFET and the gate of said fingered PFET being selectively driven from said sense and control logic.

16. A method of monitoring circuits on an Integrated Circuit (IC) chip for the effects of operating conditions, said method comprising:
providing a monitored circuit having known parameter sensitivities, and one or more sensors monitoring said monitored circuit;
each of said one or more sensors comprising:
at least one multi-fingered driver having parameter sensitivities selected to be sensitive one or more of said known parameter sensitivities,
a load capacitor to load said multi-fingered driver with a selected monitored sensitivity from the one or more said known parameter sensitivities;
a sensor fail threshold for the selected monitored sensitivity set higher than a threshold of the monitored circuit so that the sensor fails before said monitored circuit;
a load driven by said at least one multi-fingered driver, and
a sense and control logic circuit providing a drive signal selectively driving said multi-fingered driver,

operating the monitored circuit under normal operating conditions;
selectively operating the at least one multi-fingered driver associated with said monitored circuit, said multi-fingered driver being sensitive to one or more selected known parameter sensitivities of said known parameter sensitivities; and
selectively monitoring the output of said multi-fingered driver for detecting the fail threshold of the particular monitored sensitivity at said fingers whereby an identified failure in the multi-fingered driver indicates a catastrophic failure is occurring or is about likely to occur in said monitored circuit.

17. A method as in claim 16 , wherein said one or more of said known parameter sensitivities is a plurality of known sensitivities, and said multi-fingered driver is one of a plurality of multi-finge

Assignees

• Globalfoundries Inc

Inventors

• Freeman Gregory G
• Koswatta Siyuranga
• Mclaughlin Paul S
• Poindexter Daniel J
• Scott J Campbell
• Taylor Scott
• Uhlmann Gregory
• Warnock James D

Classifications

• G01R31/2884

  using dedicated test connectors, test elements or test circuits on the IC under test (G01R31/2855 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01R31/2858 Primary

  Measuring of material aspects, e.g. electro-migration [EM], hot carrier injection · CPC title