Across the great divide: examination of simulation data with actual silicon waveforms improves device characterization and production test development

Engineers face major challenges when they try to debug problems with a device being characterized or tested at a remote site. They find it difficult, time consuming, and error prone to gather waveform data from a separate facility for analysis. This paper discusses a tool for specifying data to be collected, automating its capture, and the means of displaying and comparing to waveforms previously collected through simulation of the device during the product design phase. Specific ways of viewing not only these different waveforms but also the relationships between them are presented. We also describe the development of such a system, its inclusion in the design flow for new IC development, and the resulting improvements in new product introduction from the viewpoint of design and test.