Title :
Microprocessor testability
Author :
Nagle, H. Troy ; Fritzemeier, Ronald R. ; Van Well, Jean E. ; McNamer, Michael G.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC, USA
fDate :
5/1/1989 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
As the level of microprocessor complexity increases to several hundred thousand transistors for a single-chip machine, it is becoming very difficult to test commercially available designs to the level of fault coverage desired by some customers. In order to achieve near 100-percent coverage of single stuck-at faults, future microprocessors must be designed with special testing features (designed for testability). The authors describe the testing problem for microprocessors, including the various methods of generating test sets and their application by the user. A survey of the testability features of some of today´s commercially available microprocessors is presented. Suggestions for testability features for future-generation microprocessors are also discussed.<>
Keywords :
computer testing; fault location; integrated circuit testing; microprocessor chips; fault coverage; microprocessor testability; single stuck-at faults; test set generation; Biomedical engineering; Circuit faults; Circuit testing; Fault detection; Laboratories; Logic testing; Manufacturing; Microprocessor chips; Pins; Very large scale integration;
Journal_Title :
Industrial Electronics, IEEE Transactions on
