Digital integrated circuit testing for art historians and test experts

Summary form only given. This paper is an attempt to identify the basic concerns in digital IC production testing. The details, too often, crowd in and prevent us from understanding why we are having difficulties: why testing is too costly or why too many bad chips escape (pass) the test despite our best efforts. Then some of the myths representing the common wisdom about testing are explored. The author's opinions are supported by the results of experiments - not simulations, but real-world tests - carried out on actual chips from various technologies.