Methodology to support laser-localized soft defects on analog and mixed-mode advanced ICs

The soft defect localization on analog or mixed-mode ICs is becoming more and more challenging due to their increasing complexity and integration. New techniques based on dynamic laser stimulation are promising for analog and mixedmode ICs. Unfortunately, the considerable intrinsic sensitivity of this kind of devices under laser stimulation makes the defect localization results complex to analyze. As a matter of fact, the laser sensitivity mapping contains not only abnormal sensitive regions but also naturally sensitive ones. In order to overcome this issue by extracting the abnormal spots and therefore localize the defect, we propose in this paper a methodology that can improve the FA efficiency and accuracy. It consists on combining the mapping results with the electrical simulation of laser stimulation impact on the device. First, we will present the concept of the methodology. Then, we will show one case study on a mixed-mode IC illustrating the soft defect localization by using laser mapping technique & standard electrical simulations. Furthermore, we will argument the interest of a new methodology and we will show two simple examples from our experiments to validate it.