Design of on-chip sensors to monitor electromagnetic activity in ICs: Towards on-line diagnosis and self-healing

With the growing concerns about electromagnetic compatibility of integrated circuits, the need for accurate prediction tools and models to reduce risks of non-compliance becomes critical for circuit designers. On-chip characterization of noise becomes necessary for model validation and design optimization to reduce redesign costs and time-to-market for IC manufacturers. This paper presents an on-chip noise sensor dedicated to the study of various aspects of electromagnetic compatibility at circuit level, such as power and signal integrity, substrate coupling, conducted emission and susceptibility to electromagnetic interferences. The different architectures of the sensor are presented as well as a demonstration of its measurement performance and benefits through many case studies. Applications of on-chip measurement may be extended towards online diagnosis and self-healing.