ATPG for timing-induced functional errors on trigger events in hardware-software systems

Abstract

We consider timing-induced functional errors in inter process communication. We present an Automatic Test Pattern Generation (ATPG) algorithm for the co-validation of hardware-software systems. Events on trigger signals (signals contained in the sensitivity list of a process) implement the basic synchronization mechanism in most hardware-software description languages. Timing faults on trigger signals can have a serious impact on system behavior. We target timing faults on trigger signals by enhancing a timing fault model proposed in previous work. The ATPG algorithm which we present targets the new timing fault model and provides significant performance benefits over manual test generation which is typically used for co-validation.