Efficient critical area estimation for arbitrary defect shapes

The paper reports an efficient method of estimating extra and missing material critical areas for arbitrary defect shapes. The method is applied to the generation of approximated circular, elliptical, rod and arbitrary shaped defects. The algorithms have been implemented within the Edinburgh Yield Estimator (EYE) allowing critical areas to be generated interactively within the Cadence layout editor and also within the EYES (EYE-Sampling) tool, enabling critical area estimation of state-of-the-art ICs. Results based on the analysis of IC layout suggest that circular defect models can give inaccurate yield predictions where non-circular defects are a source of faults.

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