Patent ID: 7840916
Filing Date: 2010-11-23
Classification: G01R,G06F

Abstract:
1. A design structure embodied in a machine readable medium used in a design process, the design structure including apparatus of a semiconductor chip operable to detect an increase in resistance of a monitored element of the semiconductor chip, comprising: a resistive voltage divider circuit in said semiconductor chip operable to output a plurality of reference voltages ranging from a first voltage to a second voltage; a plurality of comparators in said semiconductor chip, each of said plurality of comparators having a first input coupled to receive a respective one of said plurality of reference voltages output by said resistive voltage divider circuit and a second input coupled to receive a monitored voltage representative of a resistance of said monitored element, each of said plurality of comparators producing an output indicating whether said monitored voltage exceeds said respective one of said plurality of reference voltages, so as to precisely determine a value of said resistance of said monitored element; and a plurality of scan latches coupled to respective outputs of said plurality of comparators and operable to store values of said outputs, said plurality of scan latches operable to output said stored values in a sequential data stream in accordance with a clock signal provided to said plurality of scan latches.