Defect detection using power supply transient signal analysis

Transient Signal Analysis is a digital device testing method that is based on the analysis of voltage transients at multiple test points. The power supply transient signals of an 8-bit multiplier are analyzed using both hardware and simulation experiments. The small signal variations generated at these test points are analyzed in both the time and frequency domain. A simple statistical procedure is presented that captures the variation introduced by defects while attenuating those variations introduced by process variations. The results of the analysis show that it is possible to distinguish between defect-free and defective devices in both simulation and hardware.