Patent ID: 7547560

Claim:
A method of repairing killer defects in a semiconductor die prior to completion of semiconductor processing comprising: identifying a die having a killer defect; determining a repair location and action for a minimally invasive repair via the steps of: defining a grid overlaying an area of the die containing the killer defect; analyzing the grid to locate squares in the grid containing portions of the killer defect; defining the grid by columns and rows; computing the number of squares in each of the columns that would require repairing to remove the killer defect; identifying a one of the columns having a minimum number of squares requiring repairing; computing the number of squares in each of the rows that would require repairing to remove the killer defect: a one of the rows having a minimum number of squares requiring repairing; comparing the minimum number of squares in the one of the columns to the minimum number of squares in the one of the rows to effect repairing; and selecting from the one of the columns and the one of the rows a column or row encompassing a minimum number of squares for the repair location; implementing the repair action at the repair location; and continuing processing of the semiconductor die.