Memory Testing: MBIST, BIRA & BISR - Algorithms, Self Repair Mechanism

A promising solution : Memory BIST (Built-in Self-test), BIRA and BISR which adds test and repair circuitry to the memory and provides an acceptable yield. In the coming years, Moore's law will be driven by memory technologies that focus on aggressive pitch scaling and higher transistor count.

https://www.einfochips.com/blog/memory-testing-an-insight-into-algorithms-and-self-repair-mechanism/

#MBIST #BIRA #BISR #Selfrepairmechanism

Typically, we see a 4X increase in memory size every 3 years to cater to the needs of new generation IoT devices. Deep submicron devices contain a large number of memories which demands lower area and fast access time, hence, an automated testing strategy for such semiconductor engineering designs is required to reduce ATE (Automatic Test Equipment) time and cost.

Memory faults behave differently than classical Stuck-At faults. Therefore, the fault models are different in memories (due to its array structure) than in the standard logic design. Also, during memory tests, apart from fault detection and localization, self-repair of faulty cells through redundant cells is also implemented.