The Growing Importance of PVT Monitoring for Silicon Lifecycle Management

By Kalar Rajendiran

April 25, 2025

In an era defined by complex chip architectures, ever-shrinking technology nodes and very demanding applications, Silicon Lifecycle Management (SLM) has become a foundational strategy for optimizing performance, reliability, and efficiency across the lifespan of a semiconductor device. Central to effective SLM are Process, Voltage, and Temperature (PVT) monitors—silicon-proven, highly accurate sensors embedded into chips to provide real-time, in-silicon visibility. As devices grow in complexity and adopt technologies like 2.5D/3D IC packaging, GAA (Gate-All-Around), and BSP (Backside Power), traditional design-time assumptions and margining techniques are no longer sufficient. PVT monitoring is now indispensable for ensuring that chips operate efficiently, safely, and predictably under real-world conditions.

At the recent IPSoC Conference in Silicon Valley, Rohan Bhatnagar gave a talk on the growing importance of PVT Monitoring for effective SLM. Rohan is the product manager for Synopsys’s SLM PVT Monitor IPs. A synthesis of the salient points from his talk follows.

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