Integrated Circuit Chip with Communication Means Enabling Remote Control of Testing Means of Ip Cores of the Integrated Circuit

• US 20080034334A1
• Filed: 02/17/2005
• Published: 02/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/17/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble
• Original Assignee: Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble
• Inventors: Aktouf, Chouki, Laouamri, Oussama
• Granted Patent: US 7,725,784 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 716/4
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/318505 Test of Modular systems, e.g. Wafers, MCM's
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/318508 Board Level Test, e.g. P1500 Standard features related to boundary scan G01R31/318533
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/318558 Addressing or selecting of subparts of the device under test
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2294 by remote test

Abstract

The present invention relates to the testing of functional or IP cores forming part of a system on chip, SoC. The invention is implemented using a testing means and a communication means to test at least one functional or IP core. The testing means comprises a wrapper in which the core is embedded, this wrapper implements preferably the IEEE P1500 standard architecture but can also implement other standard architectures. The testing means can be extended to a Simple Network Management Protocol, SNMP, the widely adopted TCP/IP management protocol. The communication means comprises a test bus connected to the communication network. The proxy agent can implement the SNMP protocol, among others.

Claims

1. Integrated circuit chip comprising at least one functional or IP core;

testing means for testing the functional or IP core;

communication means for connecting the testing means to an external communication network.

2. Integrated circuit chip according to claim 1, comprising at least two functional or IP cores;

for each functional or IP core, testing means for testing said functional or IP core;

communication means for connecting the testing means of each functional or IP core to the external communication network and for enabling at least an individual access to each testing means of each functional or IP core from the external communication network.

3. Integrated circuit chip according to claim 1, wherein the testing means of each functional or IP core comprise a wrapper in which the functional or IP core is embedded.

4. Integrated circuit chip according to claim 3, wherein the wrapper of the testing means of each functional or IP core implements the IEEE P1500 standard architecture.

5. Integrated circuit chip according to claim 1, wherein the communication means allow a remote control of the testing means via the communication network.

6. Integrated circuit chip according to claim 1, wherein the communication means comprise a test bus (TAM) connected to the testing means and a proxy agent (PA) connected to the test bus and to the communication network.

7. Integrated circuit chip according to claim 6, wherein the proxy agent (PA) implements the SMNP protocol.

8. Integrated circuit chip according to claim 4 wherein the proxy agent (PA) comprises an SNMP processor which translates the information between SMNP and P1500 protocols.

9. Integrated circuit chip according to claim 1 wherein the communication means comprise at least one TCP/IP network interface circuit.

10. System for testing at least one functional or IP core embedded in an integrated circuit ship comprising an integrated circuit chip according to claim 1;

a communication network connected to the communication means of the integrated circuit chip;

a network management station (ATE) connected to the communication network and able to communicate with the testing means of the integrated circuit chip via the communication network and the communication means of the integrated circuit chip.

11. System for testing at least one functional or IP core embedded in a integrated circuit chip according to claim 10 wherein the communication network is a TCP/IP network.

12. System for testing at least one functional or IP core embedded in a integrated circuit chip according to claim 10, wherein the network management station (ATE) performs an automatic test of a functional or IP core of the integrated circuit chip.

13. Integrated circuit chip according to claim 2, wherein the testing means of each functional or IP core comprise a wrapper in which the functional or IP core is embedded.

14. Integrated circuit chip according to claim 7 wherein the proxy agent (PA) comprises an SNMP processor which translates the information between SMNP and P1500 protocols.

15. System for testing at least one functional or IP core embedded in a integrated circuit chip according to claim 11, wherein the network management station (ATE) performs an automatic test of a functional or IP core of the integrated circuit chip.