Patent ID: 8504966

Claim:
A reconfiguration method of scan chains comprising: classifying, using a computer, a number of scan chains, wherein scan chains with a starting point and an ending point in a same planned unit are classified as a first aggregation of scan chains, scan chains with the starting point and the ending point not in the same planned unit are classified as a second aggregation of scan chains and scan chains with the starting point and the ending point at a same top level are classified as a third aggregation of scan chains; reconfiguring the scan chains in the first aggregation of scan chains until the first aggregation of scan chains is void; removing the scan chain requiring a fewest scan components from the first aggregation of scan chains; assigning the available scan components in a planned unit where a terminal of the scan chain is located to the scan chain based on a quantity that the scan chain requires if a quantity of available scan components in the planned unit meets a need of the scan chain; assigning all available scan components in the planned unit to the scan chain and placing the scan chain in the third aggregation of scan chains if the quantity of available scan components in the planned unit does not meet the need of the scan chain; reconfiguring the scan chains in the second aggregation of scan chains until the second aggregation of scan chains is void; reconfiguring the scan chains in the third aggregation of scan chains until the third aggregation of scan chains is void; and reassigning scan components required by the scan chains in the same planned unit based on positions of the scan components during the second phase reconfiguration.