Intel Corporation

Daniel R Grumbling

Jeffrey K Greason

A method and apparatus for detecting resistive defects in a memory device. A pulldown device is placed at the end of a wordline opposite the end of the wordline having a wordline driver. When the test mode is enabled the wordline pulldown device is turned on. By tailoring the on resistance of the pulldown device such that it is a few times larger than the wordline wire resistance, a resistive divider may be created between the wordline wire resistance and the pulldown device resistance. If a resistive defect exists in the wordline, the increased wordline resistance will create a voltage drop in the wordline when the pulldown device is turned on. This voltage drop indicates that a defect exists in the wordline, and the defect may be located by determining the area of the wordline in which the voltage drop occurs.

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Beaverton, OR, United States of America

Daniel R Grumbling