Integration of physical reliability knowledge into the design of VLSI-circuits

A systematic approach for modeling failure mechanisms on the circuit level and for using these models for optimization of both reliability and functionability is presented. Since optimization is done using a CAD system, it is possible to carry out such an optimization in a very early stage of the design process. The stress factors of the failure mechanisms are calculated using a circuit simulator and the effect of internal and external tolerances is incorporated in the simulation. From these results the sensitivity of failure behavior for so-called designable parameters on circuit level is determined. This information is used to optimize the design toward minimum occurrence of failures. For functional demands the same methodology is used.<>