A test pattern generation methodology for low power consumption

Abstract

This paper proposes an ATPG technique that reduces power dissipation during the test of sequential circuits. The proposed approach exploits some redundancy introduced during the test pattern generation phase and selects a subset of sequences able to reduce the consumed power without reducing the fault coverage. The method is composed of three independent steps: redundant test pattern generation, power consumption measurement, optimal test sequence selection. The experimental results gathered on the ISCAS benchmark circuits show that our approach decreases the power consumption by 70% on average with respect to the original test pattern, generated ignoring the heat dissipation problem.