Repeated Testing Applications for Improving the IC Test Quality to Achieve Zero Defect Product Requirements

Abstract

The ultimate goal for all manufacturing industries is to construct products with zero defects and high quality to improve customer satisfaction. For the automotive electronics industry, which tends to have higher standards with regard to safety, the requirements for quality are particularly strict. Since most test quality cannot satisfy the demands of the automobile electronics market currently, suppliers must re-evaluate their testing programs to find a more cost-effective alternative to current testing methods. In this study, a probability concept is proposed, which assumes a normal distribution as the product characteristic. The manufacturing and testing are also quantified, where a model is introduced for test quality and test yield in order to improve the value with regard to digital IC testing. However, the speed of progress in manufacturing in the future is unpredictable, so we had to make use of current manufacturing technology and existing products’ electrical properties to predict future trends in product distribution. A valid repeat testing method was proposed simultaneously, where the moving guard-band test was used, so that the test yield and test quality could be improved to achieve high-quality requirements and zero defect goals that are essential for aviation and biomedical electronics products. The repeated testing methodology found in Table B (Overall Roadmap Technology Characteristics) of the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS 1999 and 2015) was repeated here to help improve the test yield and desired quality.