Imec

Synopsys, Inc.

Interuniversitair Micorelektronica Centrum (imec, Vzw)

Hanwa Electronic Ind. Co., Ltd.

Imec Vzw

Hanwa Electronics Ind. Co. Ltd.

Philippe Roussel

Victor Moroz

Dimitri Linten

Miguel Miranda

Antonis Papanikolaou

Robin Degraeve

Ibrahim Avci

Geert Van Den Bosch

Shuqing Li

Ivan Ciofi

An integrated circuit design tool for modeling resistance of an interconnect specifies a structure of the interconnect in a data structure in memory in or accessible by the computer system using 3D coordinate system. For each of a plurality of volume elements in the specified structure, the tool specifies a location and one of first and second materials of the interconnect having specified resistivities, and for each volume element generates a model resistivity for the volume element as a function of resistivity of volume elements within a neighborhood of the volume element and a specified transition region length &#x3bb;.

Nano-wire resistance model

Calibration method for calibrating transient behavior of a TLP test system. The system comprises a TLP generator, probe needles, nominally impedance matched transmission lines and measurement equipment, connected between the transmission lines and the TLP generator, for detecting transient behavior of a device under test by simultaneously capturing voltage and current waveforms as a result of generated pulses. The calibration method comprises (a) applying the TLP test system on an open and capturing first voltage and current waveforms; (b) applying the TLP test system on a calibration element having a known finite impedance and a known transient response and capturing second voltage and current waveforms; (c) transforming the captured first and second current and voltage waveforms to the frequency domain, and (d) determining calibration data for the transient behavior of the TLP test system on the basis of the transformed first and second voltage and current waveforms.

Method for calibrating a transmission line pulse test system

One inventive aspect relates to a method of determining an estimate of system-level yield loss for an electronic system comprising individual components subject to manufacturing process variability leading to manufacturing defects. The method comprises obtaining a description of the composition of the electronic system in terms of which individual components are used. The method further comprises obtaining statistical properties of the performance of individual components of the electronic system with respect to first and second performance variables, e.g. energy consumption and delay, the statistical properties including correlation information of the first and second performance variables. The method further comprises obtaining information about execution of an application on the system, e.g. a number of accesses of a component by an application. The method further comprises propagating the statistical properties of the first and second performance variables of the individual components to the electronic system so that the correlations between the first and second performance variables are preserved, the propagating taking into account the application information.

Method for exploring feasibility of an electronic system design

A method for detecting breakdown in a dielectric layer. The method includes applying a signal to the dielectric layer, measuring a plurality of sets of readings having values, which are in relation to the signal, searching and identifying outlier readings in each of the sets, the outlier readings being defined by the fact that they have values which are significantly higher or lower than the majority of the values of the set, selecting from each of the sets, one reading which is not one of the outlier readings, and comparing the value of the one selected reading to a reference value, so that the exceeding of the value leads to the conclusion that a predefined probability is present for having a breakdown state in the layer.

Method and apparatus for detecting breakdown in ultra thin dielectric layers

Growing community of inventors

Linden-Lubbeek, Belgium

Philippe Roussel