Efficient spectral techniques for sequential ATPG

Abstract

We present a new test generation procedure for sequential circuits using spectral techniques. Iterative processes of filtering via compaction and spectral analysis of the filtered test set are performed for each primary input, extracting inherent spectral information embedded within the test sequence. This information, when viewed in the frequency domain, reveals the characteristics of the input spectrum. The filtered and analyzed set of vectors is then used to predict and generate future vectors. We also developed a fault-dropping technique to speed up the process. We show that very high fault coverages and small vector sets are consistently obtained in short execution times for sequential benchmark circuits.