A Design for Failure Analysis (DFFA) Technique to Ensure Incorruptible Signatures

Fast failure analysis is a key enabler in shortening the time between design tape out and product introduction in the market. With faster detection of manufacturability issues, problems associated with parametric variations, model approximations or physical design rules can be fixed faster either at the process control level or at the mask level. Failure analysis can be accelerated with additional hardware support for design-for-testability (DFT) and design-for-failure-analysis (DFFA). In this paper, we focus on one such DFFA technique deployed in the industry, identify its shortcomings and offer improvements to fix deficiencies