The legacy of WSI research in MCM test/repair strategies

It is pointed out that, as MCMs (multi-chip modules) develop, a suitable design-for-manufacturability strategy will need to emerge, reducing MCM costs while retaining the performance advantages of MCMs. Three issues are considered: (1) a suitable analytic model of defects (and their generation of faults) suitable for application of `design for defect avoidance´ and `design for fault avoidance´ approaches; (2) the detectability of faults and localization of repairable faults; and (3) approaches for in-process physical repair of fault-producing defects. It is noted that MCMs offer conditions quite different from traditional WSI (wafer scale integration), particularly in the absence of active circuitry which may fail. In this sense, techniques which have not yet proved practical for successful production of WSI circuits may have considerable application for MCMs