Publications

A practical implementation of BICS for safety-critical applications

Smith, Patricia A.; Campbell, David V.

This paper presents the challenges and solutions of applying Built-In-Current Sensors (BICS) to a safety-critical IC design for the purpose of in-situ state-of-health monitoring. The developed Quiscent Current Monitor (QCM) system consists of multiple BISC and digital control logic. The QCM BICS can detect leakage current as low as 4 {micro}A, run at system speed, and has relatively low real estate overhead. The QCM digital logic incorporates extensive debug capability and Built-In-Self-Test (BIST). The authors performed analog and digital simulations of the integrated BICS, and performed layout and tapeout of the design. Silicon is now in fabrication. Results to date show that, for some systems, BICS can be a practical and relatively inexpensive method for providing state-of-health monitoring of safety-critical microelectronics.