Modern semiconductor fabrication technologies continue to produce higher-performance and higher-functionality integrated circuits, even as some foretell the demise of Moore’s Law. The innovations that drive the industry to reduce costs and increase productivity also lead to mounting challenges, particularly in the areas of reliability, test, yield, and minimizing design cycles.
Ridgetop has been proud to serve the semiconductor industry since the company was founded in 2000. Our mission continues to be to help fabless integrated circuit (IC) vendors, semiconductor foundries, and application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design houses to develop chips that operate reliably even in the most difficult environments. Our products and services focus on improving IC yield and reliability, cost-effective testing, and accelerating the design process for high-performance analog/mixed-signal ICs.
Ridgetop provides a line of precision measurement instruments for different IC test applications. Ridgetop’s ProChek™ for wafer-level reliability (WLR) characterization is a breakthrough compact, flexible, and cost-effective system. It is faster and provides more economical results than a rack full of conventional test-and-measurement equipment. ProChek is also well-suited to package-level reliability applications. For maximum value and characterization throughput, the ProChek system can be coupled with a customized test coupon that places arrays of test structures on a single chip, and accelerates the characterization process with heaters embedded inside the test coupon. ProChek systems are used by foundries and fabless IC manufacturers.
Ridgetop has designed both conventional and radiation-hardened analog and mixed-signal (AMS) electronics for very challenging applications, including space missions and satellites. Our rad-hard designs include analog-to-digital data converters (ADCs) for both very low power and high-speed/high-resolution applications. These designs and other intellectual property (IP) circuits are encapsulated in Ridgetop’s InstaCell™ library of AMS design blocks.
For advanced IC packaging methods, Ridgetop has created in situ reliability monitors called TSV BIST™. These monitors provide real-time information about through-silicon via (TSV) or other interconnects between chips in a package of 2.5D or 3D stacked die, detecting wear-out effects and intermittencies buried deep within the package.
Fabless companies need independent measurement process-level variations and mismatch in order to truly center their designs for a given foundry and process. nanoDFM™ comprises a library of die-level process monitors (DLPMs) in the PDKChek™ library. PDKChek includes IP blocks to measure various kinds of process-induced mismatch. YieldMaxx™, a software package that is also part of nanoDFM, provides visualization of die- and wafer-level test results from PDKChek or other process monitors.
For applications where “failure is not an option,” Ridgetop provides Sentinel Silicon™ “canary cells.” These die-level blocks are designed to provide early warning of impending failure due to semiconductor wear-out factors or external radiation. Systems engineers can prepare mitigating actions when armed with such information.
In addition to our standard products, Ridgetop also supplies customized design services for demanding applications. Ridgetop is a Department of Defense Category 1A Trusted Integrated Circuit Supplier for design services under the Trusted Foundry Program managed by the DoD’s Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA). Ridgetop adheres to an ISO9001- and AS9100C-compliant quality management system.
For more information about Ridgetop’s products and services for the semiconductor industry, click here to contact us directly or follow the links below for additional information on-line.
Overviews & Catalogs
Related Pages
- InstaCell™ IP Core Library
- ProChek™ Semiconductor Process Reliability Characterization System
- PDKChek™ Foundry-Independent Die-Level Monitor
- YieldMaxx™ Die-Level Process Monitor Visualization
- Sentinel Silicon™ Die-Level Reliability Monitors
- Ridgetop Design Services
- SJ BIST™ Intermittency Detection
Selected Product Briefs
- ProChek™ Wafer-Level Semiconductor Process Characterization System
- ProChek™ Semiconductor Process Characterization System
- PDKChek™ Independent Die-Level Monitor
- YieldMaxx™ Design for Manufacturing Die-Level Process Monitor (DLPM) Data Analysis Tool
- 14-bit ADC/VGA, 40 MS/s, TSMC 180 nm IP Core
- Rad-Hard Adjustable Sample Rate ADC, 12-bit, Ultra-Low Power
- NBTI Prognostic Cell
- SJ BIST™ for Custom Applications
