The Role of ATPG Fault Diagnostics in Driving Physical Analysis

This paper presents the role that ATPG fault diagnostic tools can play in driving physical device analysis. Barriers exist between the logical fault diagnostic domain and the physical device analysis domain. These barriers are being removed through the application of software tools that use design place-and-route data to bridge the gap between logical and physical domains. A case study in the use of ATPG fault diagnostic data to drive a photon prober is presented which illustrates the value of this methodology. A natural collaboration presents itself in the use of ATPG fault diagnostic output to direct physical probing efforts.