Patent ID: 8219349

Claim:
A method for testing test structures on substrates using a plurality of test cells, wherein each test cell has a plurality of test instruments each having an associated instrument driver, the method comprising: receiving a substrate having a plurality of combinatorially processed regions, the combinatorially processing forming the regions with one of different material, different processes or different process sequences; at a first test cell testing a first combinatorially processed region, obtaining a given test recipe and, based on the given test recipe, identifying which test types are to be performed on the test structures at the first test cell; at the first test cell, running at least a given test type module that corresponds to a given one of the identified test types, wherein when the given test type module is run, a first set of instrument drivers is invoked to test the test structures using the instruments of the first test cell; at a second test cell, obtaining the given test recipe and, based on the given test recipe, identifying which test types are to be performed on the test structures at the second test cell for testing a second combinatorially processed region; and at the second test cell, running at least the given test type module that corresponds to the given one of the identified test types, wherein when the given test type module is run, a second set of instrument drivers is invoked to test the test structures using the instruments of the second test cell, wherein the first and second sets of instrument drivers are different, and wherein one of the test types performed at the first cell is a voltage breakdown test that is destructive to the test structures at the first cell.