We present the first experimental demonstration of stuck-at scan chain fault isolation through the exploitation of Single Event Upsets (SEU) in a Laser-Induced Fault Analysis (LIFA) system. By observing a pass/fail flag, we can spatially map all flops after a defect in a failing scan chain through induced SEU sites produced by a fiber-amplified 25 ps 1064 nm diode laser. In addition, a custom fault isolation methodology is presented in which the result highlights only the first working flop immediately after the defect mechanism causing the stuck-at chain failure. This work demonstrates a novel method for rapid scan chain fault isolation that significantly improves localization efficacy over conventional best-known methods (BKM) based on frequency mapping. Moreover, experimental results are presented to demonstrate that LIFA can be extended to interrogate the data state of flip flops in a scan chain. Results are also presented to establish that LIFA can be configured as a hardware-based diagnostics platform.

OBIRCH analysis is a useful technique for defect localization not only for parametric failures, but also for functional analysis. However, OBIRCH results do not always identify the exact defect location. OBIRCH analysis results must be used in conjunction with other analysis tools and techniques to successfully identify defect locations.