Abstract: The invention relates to a process and an installation for automatic optimal location of a servicing operation on an integrated circuit. The accessible polygons are retrieved on the basis of topographic descriptive data and data representing the electrical circuit. For each step, different execution options are determined, each corresponding to each of the different accessible polygons, and a rating is calculated and assigned to each execution option as a function of the depth of each possible initial polygon with respect to the access surface, and of accessibility parameters of each possible initial polygon, and the optimal execution option to be used for executing each step of the servicing operation is determined automatically by a numerical optimization calculation using the ratings assigned to the different execution options of each step of the servicing operation.

Abstract: The installation for microscopic observation of a semiconductor electronic circuit includes, in a vacuum, a reflection particle interaction microscope and parts for supporting the circuit facing the reflection particle interaction microscope. The installation further includes a reflection optical microscope including optical observation part and elements for illuminating the circuit to be observed, with the illumination elements and the optical observation part on the same side of the circuit and the reflection optical microscope and the reflection particle interaction microscope disposed face-to-face on a common observation axis on respective opposite sides of the circuit.

Abstract: A process for locating defective elements in an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit is modelled in the form of a tree formed of nodes and oriented arcs. Measurements are performed at various nodes of the circuit by applying a sequence of tests at the input of the circuit. The nodes to be tested are determined recursively as a function of the result of the tests previously performed. Each new test node is such that the number of its ancestors is substantially equal to the number of its descendants.