We propose a technique of selecting seeds for the LFSR-based test pattern generators that are used in VLSI BISTs. By setting the computed seed as an initial value, target fault coverage, for example 100, can be accomplished with minimum test length. We can also maximize fault coverage for a given test length. Our method can be used for both test-per-clock and test-per-scan BISTs. The procedure is based on vector representations over GF(2~m), where m is the number of LFSR stages. The results indicate that test lengths derived through selected seeds are about sixty percent shorter than those derived by simple seeds, i.e. 00 ... 01, for a given fault coverage. We also show that seeds obtained through this technique accomplish higher fault coverage than the conventional selection procedure. In terms of the c7552 benchmark, taking a test-per-scan architecture with a 20-bit, LFSR as an example, the number of undetected faults can be decreased from 304 to 227 for 10,000 LFSR patterns using our proposed technique.
展开▼
