Patent ID: 7791070

Claim:
A system for detecting faults in an integrated circuit comprising: a circuit region with at least a first side and a second side, the first side and the second side intersecting and being straight, the first side and second side extending in different directions; a seal ring; an outer border of the integrated circuit; at least one fault detection chain between the outer border and the circuit region, the fault detection chain comprising: a first contact pad and a second contact pad, the first contact pad located between the second side and the outer border and the second contact pad being the closest contact pad to the first contact pad and wherein the first contact pad and second contact pad are electrically connected by at least one conductive pathway of a conductive material that allows current to flow from the first contact pad to the second contact pad without passing through the substrate, wherein the conductive pathway has a smaller width in a direction from the first contact pad to the second contact pad than the first contact pad or the second contact pad; a third contact pad located between the first side and the outer border; a metal feature coupled to the first and the second contact pad by a first and a second via; and a dielectric interposed between the first and second contact pads.