Searching for clues: Diagnosing IC failures

Reviewed in this issue Data Mining and Diagnosing IC Fails, by Leendert M. Huisman (Springer, 2005, ISBN 0-387-24993-1, 250 pp., $129). As ICs grow in size, finding a failure's cause has become more and more difficult. This book describes how statistical methods can help uncover the source of a problem using data provided by IC test. It discusses failures during IC manufacture, rather than at the board or assembly level or in the field. Even though the title does not indicate it, much of this book is devoted to yield enhancement, which makes it far more interesting than if it were completely devoted to traditional diagnosis.