Design for Reliability Methodology for Automotive IC Quality Enhancement

To reduce product return rate due to high-resistance vias, design for reliability (DFR) methodology were developed based on investigation of Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) chips manufactured in advanced automotive process nodes. Each RMA is very costly, especially for automotive chips. It not only delays product roll-out schedule but also requires plenty of resources from both Foundry and Design Company. The issue was immediately contained with tightening etch process control and later resolved with further optimization on film planarization. For future products, we implemented DFR rules to enhance the chip quality and minimize such kind of occurrence from the start.