Localizing open interconnect defects using targeted routing in FPGA's

A break though test strategy for detecting and localizing open metal interconnects faults is described in this paper. It utilizes the reprogrammable nature of FPGA 's to quickly isolate metal defects on different individual metal interconnect layers with existing FPGA resources. By only programming the FPGA once, multiple defects are isolated for each physical metal layer. Experimental results from a low yield wafer verified this methodology by successfully identifying the physical defect locations. The experimental results are presented in this paper. This strategy can also be applied to detecting metal bridging defects.