FAME: a fault-pattern based memory failure analysis framework

A memory failure analysis framework is developed-the Failure Analyzer for MEmories (FAME). The FAME integrates the Memory Error Catch and Analysis (MECA) system and the Memory Defect Diagnostics (MDD) system. The fault-type based diagnostics approach used by MECA can improve the efficiency of the test and diagnostic algorithms. The fault-pattern based diagnostics approach used by MDD further improves the defect identification capability. The FAME also comes with a powerful viewer for inspecting the failure patterns and fault patterns. It provides an easy way to narrow down the potential cause of failures and identify possible defects more accurately during the memory product development and yield ramp-up stage. An experiment has been done on an industrial case, demonstrating very accurate results in a much shorter time as compared with the conventional way.