Title :
Confronting violations of the TSCG(T) in low-power design
Author :
Kakarountas, A.P. ; Papadomanolakis, K.S. ; Nikolaidis, S. ; Soudris, D. ; Goutis, C.E.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng, Patras Univ., Greece
Abstract :
The degradation of the Totally Self-Checking Goal (TSCG) on Totally Self-Checking (TSC) units caused by the application of low-power techniques is explored. The function TSCG(t) is used as a vehicle to study the effect of the input activity on the network of the TSC checkers. In the design process of a system embedding concurrent on-line testing techniques, the degradation of TSC property can be fatal for further operation (i.e. space electronics, medical devices). An on-line testing architecture is offered that adjusts the input activity, when low-power management is activated. This architecture tolerates possible degradation of the terms that contribute to the calculation of the TSCG(t). The n-variable two-rail checker is used as an example vehicle to prove that TSCG(t) is maintained in acceptable levels.
Keywords :
automatic testing; built-in self test; design for testability; error detection; integrated circuit reliability; integrated circuit testing; logic testing; low-power electronics; BIST; TSC checkers; concurrent online testing techniques; input activity; low-power design; low-power management activation; n-variable two-rail checker; online testing architecture; safety-critical systems; totally self-checking goal degradation; totally self-checking units; Automatic testing; Built-in self-test; Circuit faults; Consumer electronics; Degradation; Electronic equipment testing; Safety; System testing; Vehicles; Very large scale integration;
Conference_Titel :
Circuits and Systems, 2002. ISCAS 2002. IEEE International Symposium on
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7448-7
DOI :
10.1109/ISCAS.2002.1010453
