Active replication: towards a truly SRAM-based FPGA on-line concurrent testing

Abstract

The reusing of the same hardware resources to implement speed-critical algorithms, without interrupting system operation, is one of the main reasons for the increasing use of reconfigurable computing platforms, employing complex SRAM-based FPGAs. However, new semiconductor manufacturing technologies increase the probability of lifetime operation failures, requiring new on-line testing/fault-tolerance methods able to improve the dependability of the systems where they are included. The Active Replication technique presented in this paper consists of a set of procedures that enables the implementation of a truly non-intrusive structural on-line concurrent testing approach, detecting and avoiding permanent faults and correcting errors due to transient faults. In relation to a previous technique proposed by the authors as part of the DRAFT FPGA concurrent test methodology, the Active Replication technique extends the range of circuits that can be replicated, by introducing a novel method with very low silicon overhead.