Case Studies: Masked read-only memory failure fault isolation without bitmapping

Masked Read-Only Memory (MROM) is one type of non-volatile memory in which the content of the memory is pre-programmed during the manufacturing process. Its simplistic design of hard-wiring on bit line and source line makes it a cost-effective choice as compared to other Non-Volatile Memories (NVM) in System-On-Chip (SOC). However, the main drawback in such design lies in the lack of the diagnostic options for fault isolation. This paper presents the challenges and discusses the effective of dynamic electrical failure analysis techniques in debugging MROM.