Sensitivity based testing of nonlinear circuits

The authors present a sensitivity-based method to test nonlinear circuits with small variations of element parameters. Several excitation levels and signal frequencies are used to improve system testability. This method is illustrated using piecewise-linear models, although it can be generalized to handle other nonlinear characteristics. The QR algorithm is used to select test points and ensure numerical stability. In the case of a sufficient number of measurement points, a linear, fault verification technique can also be used.<>