Uncovering circuit reliability effects using dedicated on-chip monitors

Summary form only given. Device aging mechanisms such as Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI), Hot Carrier Injection (HCI) and Time Dependent Dielectric Breakdown (TDDB) have emerged as serious problems undermining the long term reliability of high performance systems. In this presentation, we will review a number of unique test chip designs pursued by circuit designers that demonstrate the benefits of utilizing on-chip logic and a simple test interface to automate circuit aging experiments. This new class of compact on-chip sensors, called “silicon odometers”, can reveal important aspects of circuit aging that would otherwise be impossible to measure, and can lead us down the path to realtime aging compensation in future processors.