Automatic test point insertion for pseudo-random testing

Abstract

A combination of techniques for efficiently inserting test points is proposed. These techniques refer to three complementary abstraction levels: algorithms, circuits, and layout. The authors deal with pseudo-random testing and present a method of condensing test points based on the notion of fault sector. Based on a set of proposed heuristics, a tool for automatically inserting test points was developed. Experimental results obtained with the tool are presented to indicate that excellent pseudo-random testability can be achieved with few test points. This technique leads to the lowest reported number of test points while significantly reducing the number of random patterns which are required to achieve very close to 100% fault coverage.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>