Effectiveness of frequency mapping on 28 nm device broken scan chain failures

Frequency mapping methodology is an effective diagnostic tool for detection of manufacturing defects in scan chains. It analyses reflected laser modulations from toggling scan cells to localize defective scan path or scan cell. In this paper, we demonstrate experimentally that the use of solid immersion lens technology to enhance signal and spatial resolution is not a prerequisite for this technique up till 28 nm technology node. We present case studies to show the effectiveness of frequency mapping for detecting systematic and random broken scan chain failures on a 28 nm technology node test chip. We achieved 81% success rate in this methodology.