Patent ID: 7353712

Claim:
A method for judging the influence of a mechanical stress component in a semiconductor substrate on the functioning of a circuitry integrated on the semiconductor substrate, wherein the integrated circuitry comprises an integrated circuit arranged in a circuit area of the semiconductor substrate, and a stress-sensitive structure on the semiconductor substrate for detecting a mechanical stress component in the semiconductor substrate, wherein the stress-sensitive structure is implemented to provide an output signal, which depends on the mechanical stress component, in response to an excitation and to a mechanical stress component, wherein the stress-sensitive structure is arranged in a sensor area of the semiconductor substrate and wherein the circuit area and the sensor area are spatially separated from each other, the method comprising the steps of: detecting an instantaneous value of the mechanical stress component in the semiconductor substrate using the stress-sensitive structure; providing a comparison value for the mechanical stress component in the semiconductor substrate, wherein the comparison value with regard to the detected instantaneous value of the mechanical stress component comprises information with which a statement may be made whether the mechanical stress component in the semiconductor substrate impairs the functioning of the integrated circuitry, and comparing the instantaneous value of the mechanical stress component in the semiconductor substrate to the comparison value for the mechanical stress component in order to obtain a comparison result with a first or a second result value, wherein the first and the second results values comprise an indication to the impairment of the functioning of the integrated circuitry by the mechanical stress component.