Patent ID: 6205559
Filing Date: 2001-03-20
Classification: G01R

Abstract:
A method of diagnosing a test circuit device, comprising the steps of:simulating an operation of a test circuit device using a set of test vectors to produce a simulation result;testing said test circuit device using said set of test vectors to produce a test result;defining a first set of combinations of circuit elements based on a circuit data of said test circuit device, said test circuit device being composed of said circuit elements;estimating a final set of failure candidates from said first set of combinations in a failure diagnosing process based on said simulation result and said test result for each of said test vectors; andoutputting said final set of failure candidateswherein said defining step includes:defining said first set of combinations of every two of said circuit elements based on said circuit data of said test circuit device;selecting combinations of said circuit elements based on a layout data of said test circuit device such that any failure does not occur, to define a second set of said selected combinations; andremoving said second set from said first set to redefine said first set of combinations.