Methods and apparatus for fault diagnosis in self-testable systems

• US 5,831,992 A
• Filed: 10/09/1997
• Issued: 11/03/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: RPX Clearinghouse LLC (RPX Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Northern Telecom Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Wu, Yuejian
• Primary Examiner(s): Beausoliel, Jr., Robert W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Iqbal, Nadeem
• Application Number:
  US08/948,034
• Time in Patent Office: 390 Days
• Field of Search: 371/22.31, 371/22.32, 371/22.33, 371/22.34, 371/22.5, 371/25.1, 395/183.01, 395/183.06, 395/185.01, 364/550
• US Class Current: 714/732
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/318547 Data generators or compressors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2215 to test error correction or detection circuits

Abstract

An analytical fault diagnostic methodology for use in complex VLSI chips. The method assumes a scan design environment and is capable of locating errors to the scan flops that capture the errors during test, independently of the number of errors that the circuit-under-test produces. The methodology is also capable of identifying the test vector or vectors under which the errors are generated. The apparatus which is designed to implement the method is also described. As the apparatus requires little hardware, the method is practical for chip level applications.

Claims

1. A method of diagnosing faults in an integrated circuit the integrated circuit comprising a test vector generator, a programmable data compactor and a secondary data compactor, the method comprising:

applying a series of test vectors, for each test vector performing a sequence of test steps;

capturing scan test response data from each test vector,

compressing the test response data using the programmable data compactor to implement a first data compaction function to generate an intermediate signature;

compressing the intermediate signature in a secondary data compactor;

clearing the intermediate signature from the programmable data compactor;

and downloading the content of the secondary data compactor to an external storage for off-line fault analysis after the series of test vectors have been applied;

and then, after programming the programmable data compactor to implement a different data compaction function, applying another series of test vectors, repeating the sequence of test steps using the different data compaction function;

for each data compaction function, comparing contents of the secondary data compactor downloaded to external storage with stored values for each series of test to provide diagnostic information for identifying a faulty element in the circuit and an error vector under which the fault occurred.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein implementing a data compaction function of the programmable data compactor, comprises setting the programmable data compactor to a programmable feedback polynomial selected from a set of predefined polynomials.

3. A method of diagnosing faults in an integrated circuit, the integrated circuit having scan based built-in self-testability, including a test vector generator, a programmable data compactor and a secondary data compactor, the method comprising:

a) programming the programmable data compactor to implement a data compaction function using a first feedback polynomial selected from a set of predefined polynomials;

b) scanning a test vector into a plurality of scan chains;

c) capturing scan test response data to the test vector in the scan chains;

d) compressing the test response data in the programmable data compactor to generate an intermediate signature;

e) compressing the intermediate signature in a secondary data compactor;

f) clearing the intermediate signature from the programmable data compactor;

g) scanning a further test vector into the scan chains and generating a further intermediate signature in the programmable data compactor;

h) compressing the further intermediate signature in the secondary data compactor;

i) clearing the further intermediate signature from the programmable data compactor;

j) downloading the content of the secondary data compactor to an external storage for off-line fault analysis after a series of test vectors have been applied; and

k) setting the programmable data compactor to implement a different data compaction function by using another feed back polynomial and then repeating steps b) to j);

for each data compaction function and for each series of test vectors, comparing the content of the secondary data compactor downloaded to external storage with stored values to provide diagnostic information for identifying a faulty element in the circuit and an error vector under which the fault occurred.

4. A method according to claim 3 wherein step (k) is repeated a plurality of times.

5. A method according to claim 3 wherein the integrated circuit comprises a plurality of scan chains and the method comprises capturing the test response data in a single scan chain.

6. A method according to claim 3 wherein the integrated circuit comprises a plurality of scan chains, and the method comprises capturing the test response data to the plurality of scan chains sequentially one at a time.

7. A method according to claim 3 wherein the integrated circuit comprises a plurality of scan chains, and the method comprises capturing test response data from multiple scan chains using multiple programmable data compactors.

8. A method according to claim 3 wherein transfer of data from the programmable data compactor to the second data compactor occurs only at selective clock cycles under control of a scan mode signal.

9. An apparatus for diagnosing faults in an integrated circuit using a scan based built-in self-test function, the apparatus comprising;

a signal generator to input a pseudo-random test vector to a plurality of scan chains in the integrated circuit;

a programmable data compactor having control means for selecting one of a plurality of data compaction functions of the programmable data compactor for analyzing test response data from the scan chains and compressing the data into an intermediate signature using a selected one of the plurality of data compaction functions;

a secondary data compactor in communication with the programmable data compactor, the secondary data compactor for compressing the intermediate signature;

control means associated with the programmable space compactor to cause the intermediate signature to be transferred to the secondary data compactor and thereafter to instruct the signal generator to input a further test vector to the scan chains;

and means to download the contents of the secondary data compactor to external storage means for fault diagnosis after a plurality of test vectors have been scanned.

10. An apparatus for diagnosing faults in an integrated circuit using a scan based built-in self-test function, the apparatus comprising;

a signal generator for inputting a series of pseudo-random test vectors to a plurality of scan chains in the integrated circuit;

a programmable data compactor for analyzing test response data from the scan chains in response to each test vector and compressing the test response data into an intermediate signature, the programmable data compactor capable of implementing a selected one of a plurality of data compaction functions;

a secondary data compactor in communication with the programmable data compactor, the secondary data compactor for compressing the intermediate signature;

control means associated with the programmable space compactor for causing the intermediate signature to be transferred to the secondary data compactor, for selecting another one of the plurality of data compaction functions and thereafter for instructing the signal generator to input a further series of test vector to the scan chains;

and means to download the contents of the secondary data compactor to external storage means for fault diagnosis after each series of test vectors have been scanned.

11. An apparatus for diagnosing faults in an integrated circuit as defined in claim 10 comprising a data controller associated with the programmable data compactor whereby test response data from the scan chains is supplied sequentially to the programmable data compactor.

12. An apparatus for diagnosing faults in an integrated circuit as defined in claim 10 further having multiple programmable data compactors and multiple secondary data compactors.