Error masking in compact testing based on the Hamming code and its modifications

Probability that an invalid sequence at an output of a device under test is not detected (error masking) is the measure of the effectiveness of compact testing methods. This paper evaluates and analyses the probability distribution of error masking for compact testing by exploiting the characteristics both of the Hamming code (i.e., the signature analysis) and of some modified Hamming codes. To study the effectiveness of these methods we derive also the analytical expressions for the number of code words of arbitrary weight. Finally, bounds for error masking probability are obtained.