Title :
Automated Trace Signals Identification and State Restoration for Improving Observability in Post-Silicon Validation
Author :
Ko, Ho Fai ; Nicolici, Nicola
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., McMaster Univ., Hamilton, ON
Abstract :
Embedded logic analysis has emerged as a powerful technique for identifying functional bugs during post-silicon validation, as it enables at-speed acquisition of data from the circuit nodes in real-time. Nonetheless, the amount of data that is observed is limited by the capacity of the on-chip trace buffers. This paper introduces an automated method for improving the utilization of the on-chip storage, by identifying a small set of trace signals from which a large number of states can be restored using a compute-efficient algorithm. This enlarged set of data can then be used to aid the search of functional bugs in the fabricated circuit.
Keywords :
VLSI; data acquisition; integrated circuit design; integrated circuit modelling; integrated circuit testing; logic design; system-on-chip; SOC; VLSI circuit design; automated trace signals identification; compute-efficient algorithm; data acquisition; embedded logic analysis; on-chip storage; on-chip trace buffers; post-silicon validation; state restoration; Circuit simulation; Computer bugs; Design for disassembly; Observability; Signal design; Signal processing; Signal restoration; Silicon; System-on-a-chip; Virtual manufacturing;
Conference_Titel :
Design, Automation and Test in Europe, 2008. DATE '08
Conference_Location :
Munich
Print_ISBN :
978-3-9810801-3-1
Electronic_ISBN :
978-3-9810801-4-8
DOI :
10.1109/DATE.2008.4484858
