Evaluation of FPGA resources for built-in self-test of programmable logic blocks

Abstract

We present a new approach for FPGA testing that exploits the reprogrammability of FPGAs to create Built-In Self-Test (BIST) logic only during off-line test. As a result, BIST is achieved without area or performance penalties to the system function implemented by the FPGA, since the FPGA is reconfigured for normal system operation. An analysis of Look-Up Table (LUT) based FGPA architectures yields a general expression for the number of test sessions and establishes the bounds on FPGA logic resources required to minimize the number of BIST configurations required to completely test all of the programmable logic blocks of an FPGA.