On-Chip EM Sensor Arrays for Reliability Monitoring of Integrated Circuits

In this manuscript, we present a novel approach of utilizing the unintentional electromagnetic waves (EM) emanated from an Integrated Circuit (IC) to estimate its reliability. We focus on estimating characteristics like circuit aging and electromigration which can have a significant impact on the overall performance and reliability of ICs. Since aging and electromigration are unpredictable in nature because of the changes in working conditions, manufacturing process variation and malicious tampering, having an on-chip EM sensor to continuously monitor the circuit activity to estimate these factors is essential in mission critical applications. To this end, we discuss the design process of an on-chip EM sensor which consists of an array of antennas embedded on top of an unpackaged die. We demonstrate a method to visualize aging by measuring the EM waves and present the simulation results of the antennas used in the design of the proposed EM sensor for aging and electromigration detection in ICs.