Simultaneous Generation of Functional and Low-Power Non-Functional Broadside Tests

Abstract

Functional broadside tests are useful for guiding a low-power test generation procedure by providing a target for the switching activity of low-power tests. Low-power test generation procedures based on functional broadside tests first generate a set of functional broadside tests. They then use the tests for guiding the generation of low-power non-functional broadside tests that are required for increasing the fault coverage. In the low-power test generation procedure described in this paper, functional and non-functional broadside tests are generated simultaneously by the same process. In addition to the simplicity that this provides, it also requires fewer functional broadside tests that detect target faults to be generated. Moreover, it allows stricter constraints on the switching activity of non-functional broadside tests to be satisfied. These constraints prevent a non-functional broadside test from compensating for an excessively high switching activity in one sub-circuit with a low switching activity in another.