In recent years, the Display Driver IC (DDI) market has continued evolving toward higher resolution, higher refresh rates, and smarter display capabilities. Whether in smartphones, automotive displays, tablets, or OLED applications, these trends are placing greater demands on on-chip data processing performance. As a result, the amount of embedded SRAM inside DDIs is steadily increasing, drawing more industry attention to memory testing and repair technologies.
In the past, DDIs were mainly responsible for display driving functions. However, with the widespread adoption of 120Hz, 144Hz, and even higher refresh-rate display technologies, along with the integration of features such as local dimming, display compensation algorithms, and touch integration (TDDI), chips now require more high-speed buffers and temporary storage to process large volumes of real-time data. Consequently, many next-generation DDIs are incorporating larger embedded SRAM capacities to meet system performance requirements.
However, increased SRAM capacity also means that memory occupies a larger portion of the chip area. From a semiconductor manufacturing perspective, memory arrays are typically among the regions most vulnerable to process variation, microscopic defects, and reliability issues. As SRAM size grows, the probability of potential failures also increases, which can directly impact chip yield and product quality.
Against this backdrop, the importance of Memory BIST (MBIST) continues to grow. MBIST enables automated on-chip memory testing, allowing SRAM quality to be rapidly verified during wafer sort and package testing. This significantly improves test coverage while reducing test time. For DDI products containing large amounts of SRAM, MBIST has gradually become an indispensable part of design infrastructure.
Beyond testing, Memory BISR (Built-In Self-Repair) is also receiving increasing attention. Through redundant memory architecture and automated repair mechanisms, BISR can repair detected memory defects, improving the number of usable chips and enhancing overall yield. In the highly competitive, high-volume DDI market, even a 1% improvement in yield can translate into significant cost benefits.
The growth of SRAM capacity inside DDIs has become a clear industry trend. Going forward, how to leverage MBIST, MBISR, and more advanced memory quality management technologies to maintain high yield and high reliability in mass production environments will become a critical challenge in DDI development. This trend also creates greater opportunities for memory testing and repair solutions.
iSTART-TEK has long focused on memory testing and repair technologies, providing comprehensive MBIST and MBISR solutions. Its Repair function has achieved ISO 26262 TCL1 (Tool Confidence Level 1) certification for software tool confidence. The START™ platform developed by iSTART-TEK supports a wide range of memory architectures and advanced process nodes, helping customers accelerate Memory BIST insertion, automated verification, and mass production deployment.
To address increasingly complex SRAM design requirements, iSTART-TEK further integrates Diagnosis, Repair Analysis, and customizable testing technologies such as UDA and TEC, enabling engineering teams to flexibly adjust testing strategies based on product quality targets, failure modes, and DPPM requirements. As SRAM capacity continues to grow in DDIs, AI chips, and automotive chips, MBIST and MBISR are no longer merely standard components in the design flow—they have become critical technologies for improving yield, reducing test costs, and ensuring product reliability.