Detection of SRAM cell stability by lowering array supply voltage

Abstract

In this paper, we discuss a design-for-test technique for the detection of cell stability in static random access memory (SRAM). The power supply to the memory array is isolated and independently accessible from an external terminal. By lowering the array supply voltage, the cell stability is degraded, making the defective cells susceptible to noises induced by read/write operations. On-silicon characterization result using 0.18 /spl mu/m CMOS technology is reported. It shows that the weak tailing bits in the statistical distribution can manifest themselves. The implementation of the test mode is inherently low-cost and can be combined with previously proposed methods for an improved detection capability.