Simulation based dynamic laser stimulation for failure analysis of analog and mixed-signal circuits

With the increasing complexity of circuits, it is difficult to carry out fault isolation in a short time. This is particularly true for mixed-signal circuits when using only standard fault isolation techniques (e.g. EMMI or TLS). It is often complicated to tell whether a spot is a consequence of a failure or points out the location of the defect itself. In this scenario, circuit simulators are a solution to resolve this ambiguity and ease this task. This work proposes a simulation method for circuits inspected using thermal laser stimulation techniques. Furthermore, simulations for the dynamic laser stimulation technique are proposed with encouraging results for failure analysis.