Patent Application: US-75732001-A

Abstract:
hardware or software to test a circuit with a set of functional vectors . the invention compares expected results of functional vectors with the actual results of the test circuit . if there is a miscompare , a recursive comparison is done prior to the first clock cycle of the miscompare .

Description:
a method and software for failure detection of logic nodes within an integrated device utilizing functional test vectors and scan mode are described . in the following description , for purposes of explanation , numerous details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention . however , it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that these specific details are not required in order to practice the present invention . [ 0018 ] fig1 illustrates a diagram of a logic block 100 utilized by an embodiment of the present invention . the logic block 100 represents internal logic and a scan path within an integrated device . also , the logic block 100 supports two modes of operation , a functional operation mode to perform various commands and requests , and a scan test mode for debug analysis . the logic block receives inputs , i 1 and i 2 , labeled as 114 and 116 , and logic clouds 102 , 104 , 106 , 108 and 110 generate an output , o 1 . a plurality of flip - flops 126 , 128 , 130 , and 132 store the logic values in response to a clock signal 134 . a plurality of multiplexers 118 , 120 , 121 , 122 and 124 select an input to forward to the plurality of flip - flops . a scan enable signal 112 is the control signal for the multiplexers . the logic cloud 102 receives the inputs , i 1 and i 2 , and comprises a plurality of logic gates including and , or , nor , etc . an output node , n 1 , from the logic cloud 102 and the input i 1 are the two inputs to the multiplexer 118 . in one embodiment , the i 1 input is the scan input for receiving an external scan vector . for the scan test mode , the multiplexer 118 selects the i 1 input if the scan enable signal is a logic high . otherwise , the multiplexer selects the output node n 1 during the functional operation mode . the flip - flop 126 receives an input at the data port , d , from the multiplexer 118 on the rising edge of the clock signal 134 . an output , q , of the flip - flop 126 is coupled to the logic cloud 104 and multiplexer 120 . the remaining logic clouds 104 - 110 , output nodes n 2 - n 4 , and flip - flops 128 - 132 operation in a similar manner as previously described for the multiplexer 118 , flip - flop 126 , and logic cloud 102 . during the functional operation of the integrated device in response to functional test vectors , the output nodes , n 1 - n 4 , are constantly changing in response to the inputs i 1 and i 2 and the logic gates within the logic clouds . to verify the correct operation of the integrated device , the contents of the flip - flops are unloaded in a serial flow by setting the scan enable signal 112 to a logic high and observing the contents on an external pin via output o 1 . the functional test vectors are applied to the integrated device via automatic test equipment ( ate ). in one embodiment , the ate is manufactured by schlumberger technology . in another embodiment , the ate is manufactured by agilent technology . [ 0021 ] fig2 illustrates a diagram for generating functional vectors utilized by an embodiment of the present invention . the block diagram 200 is a high level description of the procedure for generating functional test vectors for an integrated device and comprises a target device model 206 , signal generation block 204 , and peripheral models 202 . functional test vectors stimulate the various nodes within an integrated device and insure design integrity and detect manufacturing defects . the design of an integrated device consists of various connections between transistors . a netlist and a cell library represent the connections between the transistors , the size of the transistors , and the types of transistors . a model of the integrated device represents the logic at a gate level ( logic block ) rather than a transistor level . in one embodiment , the models are register transfer language ( rtl ) and very - high level design language ( vhdl ). in another embodiment , the models are behavioral . the functional vectors are applied to an integrated device via the ate to test the integrated device . in one embodiment , the integrated device is a chipset . the target device model 206 represents the model for the integrated device and receives various control and clock signals from the signal generation block 204 such as clock , interrupt , reset , and start execution signals . also , the signal generation block receives the operating status of the target device model in order to synchronize the control and clock signals . the peripheral models 202 are created for various devices such as input and output ( i / o ) devices , accelerated graphics port ( agp ), front side bus , central processing unit , and input / output controller hub ( ich ). the peripheral models 202 receive and transmit various control , address and data signals to and from the target device model 202 . thus , the target device model generates functional vectors based on the clock and control signals from the signal generation 204 and peripheral models 202 . fig3 - 5 are diagrams for illustrating one failure detection example . fig3 illustrates the first output diagram indicating the first fail vector . next , fig4 illustrates the procedure for recursive debug techniques of identifying the possible defective logic nodes in response to the first fail vector . also , fig5 illustrates the expected output results from logic simulation or a error - free integrated device . finally , the values of the output nodes , n 1 - n 4 , in fig4 are compared to the corresponding values of n 1 - n 4 in fig5 to indicate the defective node . [ 0024 ] fig3 illustrates a first test output diagram utilized by an embodiment of the present invention . the test output diagram 300 represents the data values observed on external pin 01 , column 308 , in response to inputs , i 1 and i 2 , in column 304 and column 306 . the inputs , i 1 and i 2 , and output o 1 were described with reference to fig1 . the scan clock cycle is depicted in column 302 . also , column 310 represents the expected value for the output pin o 1 based on the logic simulation or the functional test vectors discussed with reference to fig2 . fig3 illustrates an example of observing the actual and expected output values for an integrated device in response to a set of functional vectors . the actual output results observed on external pin o 1 for the specific integrated device under test are compared to expected output results . for example in row 312 , for scan clock cycle 8 and input values of ‘ 11 ’ ( b ) for i 1 and i 2 , the output o 1 is a value of logic 0 . however , the expected output in column 310 for this set of input conditions is a logic 1 . therefore , input values and scan clock cycle 8 in row 312 represent a test vector that results in a “ failure condition ” for the integrated device because the actual and expected output results for o 1 are different . furthermore , the input values i 1 and i 2 and the scan clock cycle of 8 in row 312 represent a “ first fail vector ” because the input conditions and clock cycle define the test vector for a first failure of the integrated device . alternative embodiments of detecting the actual defective node within the integrated device are further discussed with reference to fig4 - 5 . continuing on with the discussion with reference to fig3 there was the first fail vector for the output o 1 in scan clock cycle 8 for row 312 . fig4 illustrates the output results of a plurality of recursive scan dump vectors preceding to and including the first fail vector . for example , the first fail vector is for scan clock cycle 8 . the entire scan path is unloaded , a scan dump , to illustrate the data values stored in the scan blocks 106 - 112 in fig1 . as discussed earlier , during normal functional operation of the integrated device and if the scan clock is not active , the scan blocks store the values of the output nodes n 1 - n 4 from the various logic clouds . therefore , the first scan dump for scan clock cycle 8 is illustrated in row 418 and the values of the output nodes n 1 - n 4 are depicted in columns 410 - 416 . the recursive operation of scan dumps is repeated for several scan clock cycles . in one embodiment , the scan dumps are performed for each scan clock cycle until the four output node values for n 1 - n 4 in fig4 columns 410 - 416 , are equivalent to the corresponding output node values for n 1 - n 4 , columns 510 - 516 , in fig5 . in another embodiment , the scan dump vectors are performed for a subset of scan clock cycles . [ 0028 ] fig5 illustrates a third test output diagram . fig5 illustrates the output results from logic simulation or a error - free integrated device . several scan dumps are performed on an error - free integrated device or in logic simulation . in this example , five scan dumps are performed to match the number of scan dumps in fig4 . each value for nodes n 1 - n 4 is compared between fig4 and fig5 for each scan clock cycle and analyzed for any difference between values for similar nodes . for example , for row 424 for scan clock cycle 5 in fig4 and for row 524 for scan clock cycle 5 in fig5 there is a difference in values for node n 2 . also , subsequent scan clock cycles 6 and 7 indicate miscompares in scan dump vectors because the incorrect value of node n 2 propagates and affects subsequent output nodes . the analysis of scan dump vector miscompare between fig4 and fig5 concentrates on the “ earliest ” scan dump vector miscompare . in this example , scan clock cycle 5 is the earliest scan dump vector miscompare and scan clock cycle 4 is the first scan clock cycle preceding scan clock cycle 5 , with equivalent values for nodes n 1 - n 4 for fig4 - 5 . thus , the fifth scan dump for scan clock cycle 4 in fig4 - 5 results in equivalent values for nodes n 1 - n 4 and terminates the recursive scan dump operation . in one embodiment , the recursive scan dump vector procedure is automated and is incorporated in test software . in another embodiment , the scan dump vector is performed on a subset of the output nodes , n 1 - n 4 , rather than all the output nodes , n 1 - n 4 . while the invention has been described with reference to specific modes and embodiments , for ease of explanation and understanding , those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention is not necessarily limited to the particular features shown herein , and that the invention may be practiced in a variety of ways that fall under the scope and spirit of this disclosure . the invention is , therefore , to be afforded the fullest allowable scope of the claims that follow . william e . alford , reg . no . 37 , 764 ; 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