VLSI Testing

Delay Test
Virendra Singh
Indian Institute of Science
Bangalore
virendra@computer.org
E0286: Testing and Verification of SoC Designs
Lecture 22
Mar 24, 2008

E0286@SERC

Definitions
Controlling value (cv) : An input of a gate
is said to have a controlling value if it
uniquely determines the output of the gate
independent of other inputs
For example, 0 for AND or NAND

A path R in a circuit is a sequence

(g0g1gr), where g0 is a PI, g1g2.. are
gate outputs, gr is a PO
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E0286@SERC

Definitions
An on-input of path R is a connection
between two gates along path R
A side-input (off-input) of path R is any
connection to a gate along path R other than
its on-input
A path that starts at a primary input and ends
at a side-input of path R is called a side-path
of R
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E0286@SERC

Transition Delay Fault

Two faults per gate; slow-to-rise and
slow-to-fall.
Tests are similar to stuck-at fault tests.
For example, a line is initialized to 0 and
then tested for s-a-0 fault to detect slowto-rise transition fault.
Models spot (or gross) delay defects.

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Transition Delay Test

Path P1
1
1

P2

1
1

1
1

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D
SA0

D
3

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P3

Transition Delay Test

Single lumped inertial delay modeled for each gate
PI transitions assumed to occur without time skew
Path P1

P2

1
1

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D
SA0

D
3

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P3

Transition Delay Test

Path P1

X0

0D

00

P2

01
01

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0D
SA0

0D

1D

1D
3

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P3

Path Delay Fault

Chengs classification
Robustly testable
Non-robustly (NR) testable
Functional sensitizable (FS) testable
Functionally unsensitizable
(functionally redundant)

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E0286@SERC

Path Delay Fault

Robust testable : detect target PDF
independent of delays in rest of the circuit.
It must satisfies the following conditions
It launches the desired transition at primary
input
All side inputs of target path settle to noncontrolling values under V2
Whenever the logic transition at an on-input
is from non-controlling to controlling value
(ncv to cv), each side-input should maintain
steady non-controlling value (ncv)
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Path Delay Fault

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Path Delay Fault

Non-Robust (NR ) testable :
It must satisfies the following conditions
It launches the desired transition at primary
input
All side-inputs of target path settle to noncontrolling values (ncv) under V2

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Path Delay Fault

Functional Sensitizable (FS) testable:
Detection of faults on paths that are sensitizable

under FS criterion depends on the delays on

signals outside the target path
It must satisfies the following conditions
It launches the desired transition at primary
input
Whenever the logic transition at an on-input
is non-controlling value (ncv) under vector
V2, each side-input should have noncontrolling value (ncv) under V2
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Path Delay Fault

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Path Delay Fault

Functionally unsensitizable

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Path Delay Fault

On-input
cv -> ncv

ncv -> cv

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Side-inputs
Stable cv
Stable ncv
cv -> ncv
ncv -> cv
Stable cv
Stable ncv
cv -> ncv
E0286@SERC
ncv -> cv

testability
Untestable
Robust
Untestable
Untestable
Robust
NR
FS

15

Thank You
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