Integrated circuits (ICs) are pervasive in all aspects of our lives, used in everything from computers to mobile phones to automobiles. However, fabricating ICs that both work and are reliable is becoming extremely difficult due to the significant complexity inherent in the underlying fabrication processes. It is therefore extremely important to understand the reasons why some ICs fail to operate properly. In this NSF project, new methodologies for locating and characterizing the root cause for IC failure will be developed. Existing approaches typically produce uncertain results because they rely on limited information about the IC design. In this work, additional design information and data extracted from other failing ICs will be holistically used to efficiently derive the reason for IC failure from data measured from failing ICs. Efficiently discovering the root-cause of failure for an IC will enable the design, the fabrication and even the testing of ICs to be significantly improved, helping to ensure the continued advancement of the electronics industry.
The principal investigator (PI) is committed to having a broader impact through training a diverse group of undergraduate and graduate researchers. His research group has members from under-represented groups that include women, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans. In addition, as director of the Center for the Silicon System Implementation (CSSI) at Carnegie Mellon University, the PI manages a program that recruits undergrads researchers from various universities (including minority-serving institutions), and the annual convention of the National Society of Black Engineers. This program has been very successful, resulting in the recruitment of many undergraduate researchers, including both women and African-Americans. In the last few years, the PI himself has supervised nine undergraduate researchers, three of which were African-American (two male and one female). In addition, the preliminary work undertaken by this NSF contract is now published and was actually accomplished by one of our African-American researchers. The PI will continue to recruit a diverse group of students, both at the graduate and undergraduate levels, for participation in this project.
