Adaptive test flow for mixed-signal ICs

Adaptive test is a promising direction for reducing the manufacturing test cost. It aims to dynamically adjust the test program on a device-by-device or on a wafer-by-wafer basis. Adjusting the test program could involve eliminating tests, changing test limits, re-ordering tests, etc. The objective is to spend the minimum possible test time per device without sacrificing fault coverage. In this paper, we present an adaptive test flow for mixed-signal ICs and we demonstrate its effectiveness on a sizable production dataset from a large mixed-signal IC. The adaptive test flow first eliminates seemingly redundant tests on a wafer-by-wafer basis and then it may refine the test content on a device-by-device basis so as to ensure high fault coverage. In addition, it estimates the test escape risk so as to provide confidence in the binning of devices.