Parallel genetic algorithms for simulation-based sequential circuit test generation

The problem of test generation belongs to the class of NP-complete problems and it is becoming more and more difficult as the complexity of VLSI circuits increases, and as long as execution times pose an additional problem. Parallel implementations can potentially provide significant speedups while retaining good quality results. In this paper, we present three parallel genetic algorithms for simulation-based sequential circuit test generation. Simulation-based test generators are more capable of handling the constraints of complex design features than deterministic test generators. The three parallel genetic algorithm implementations are portable and scalable over a wide range of distributed and shared memory MIMD machines. Significant speedups were obtained, and fault coverages were similar to and occasionally better than those obtained using a sequential genetic algorithm, due to the parallel search strategies adopted.