Latent defect classification system

A method for identifying an integrated circuit having a latent defeat, the method comprising the steps of:

• obtaining test data corresponding to a set of integrated circuits that were processed on a single substrate,
• selecting for analysis a subject integrated circuit from within the set of integrated circuits, where the test data for the subject integrated circuit indicates that the subject integrated circuit has no defects,
• identifying a subset of integrated circuits from within the set of integrated circuits, where the subset of integrated circuits includes integrated circuits that were located in close proximity on the single substrate to the subject integrated circuit,
• analyzing the test data for the subset of integrated circuits to determine an average number of defects for the subset of integrated circuits,
• comparing the average number of defects for the subset of integrated circuits to a threshold,
• classifying the subject integrated circuit as having a latent defect when the average number of defects for the subset of integrated circuits violates the threshold, and
• classifying the subject integrated circuit as not having a latent defect when the average number of defects for the subset of integrated circuits does not violate the threshold.

A method for identifying an integrated circuit having a latent defect, the method comprising the steps of:

• obtaining test data corresponding to a set of integrated circuits that were processed on a single substrate, wherein the test data for the set of integrated circuits includes defect data for functional tests and parametric tests of the set of integrated circuits,
• selecting for analysis a subject integrated circuit from within the set of integrated circuits, where the test data for the subject integrated circuit indicates that the subject integrated circuit has no defects,
• identifying a subset of integrated circuits from within the set of integrated circuits, where the subset of integrated circuits includes eight nearest neighbor integrated circuits to the subject integrated circuit on the single substrate,
• analyzing the test data for the subset of integrated circuits to determine an average number of defects for the subset of integrated circuits,
• comparing the average number of defects for the subset of integrated circuits to a predetermined threshold,
• classifying the subject integrated circuit as having a latent defect when the average number of defects for the subset of integrated circuits is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, and
• classifying the subject integrated circuit as not having a latent defect when the average number of defects for the subset of integrated circuits is less than the predetermined threshold.