Timing-aware test generation and fault simulation
First Claim
1. A method of generating test patterns for testing an integrated circuit, comprising:
- identifying a fault that is detected by a test pattern by simulating a response of an integrated circuit design to the test pattern in the presence of the fault and identifying one or more paths that are sensitized by the test pattern and that detect the fault;
computing a static path delay for a selected sensitized path through the identified fault;
determining whether a criterion based at least in part on the static path delay is met for the identified fault;
modifying a fault list by removing the identified fault if the criterion is met; and
storing the modified fault list,wherein either;
(a) the selected sensitized path is the longest sensitized path, and the act of determining whether the criterion is met comprises determining whether;
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Abstract
Disclosed herein are exemplary methods, apparatus, and systems for performing timing-aware automatic test pattern generation (ATPG) that can be used, for example, to improve the quality of a test set generated for detecting delay defects or holding time defects. In certain embodiments, timing information derived from various sources (e.g. from Standard Delay Format (SDF) files) is integrated into an ATPG tool. The timing information can be used to guide the test generator to detect the faults through certain paths (e.g., paths having a selected length, or range of lengths, such as the longest or shortest paths). To avoid propagating the faults through similar paths repeatedly, a weighted random method can be used to improve the path coverage during test generation. Experimental results show that significant test quality improvement can be achieved when applying embodiments of timing-aware ATPG to industrial designs.
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Citations
11 Claims
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1. A method of generating test patterns for testing an integrated circuit, comprising:
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identifying a fault that is detected by a test pattern by simulating a response of an integrated circuit design to the test pattern in the presence of the fault and identifying one or more paths that are sensitized by the test pattern and that detect the fault; computing a static path delay for a selected sensitized path through the identified fault; determining whether a criterion based at least in part on the static path delay is met for the identified fault; modifying a fault list by removing the identified fault if the criterion is met; and storing the modified fault list, wherein either; (a) the selected sensitized path is the longest sensitized path, and the act of determining whether the criterion is met comprises determining whether; - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. One or more non transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions for causing a computer to perform a method, the method comprising:
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identifying a fault that is detected by a test pattern by simulating a response of an integrated circuit design to the test pattern in the presence of the fault and identifying one or more paths that are sensitized by the test pattern and that detect the fault; computing a static path delay for a selected sensitized path through the identified fault; determining whether a criterion based at least in part on the static path delay is met for the identified fault; modifying a fault list by removing the identified fault if the criterion is met; and storing the modified fault list, and wherein either; (a) the selected sensitized path is the longest sensitized path, and the act of determining whether the criterion is met comprises determining whether; - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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Specification