A DFT Scheme to Improve Coverage of Hard-to-Detect Faults in FinFET SRAMs

Abstract

Manufacturing defects can cause faults in FinFET SRAMs. Of them, easy-to-detect (ETD) faults always cause incorrect behavior, and therefore are easily detected by applying sequences of write and read operations. However, hard-to-detect (HTD) faults may not cause incorrect behavior, only parametric deviations. Detection of these faults is of major importance as they may lead to test escapes. This paper proposes a new design-for-testability (DFT) scheme for FinFET SRAMs to detect such faults by creating a mismatch in the sense amplifier (SA). This mismatch, combined with the defect in the cell, will incorrectly bias the SA and cause incorrect read outputs. Furthermore, post-silicon calibration schemes can be used to avoid over-testing or test escapes caused by process variation effects. Compared to the state of the art, this scheme introduces negligible overheads in area and test time while it significantly improves fault coverage and reduces the number of test escapes.