Confronting violations of the TSCG(T) in low-power design

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.