Scan chain configuration method for broadcast decompressor architecture

The high test data volume and long test application time are two major concerns for testing scan based circuits. Broadcast-based test compression techniques can reduce both the test data volume and test application time. The broadcast rate is a major issue in these techniques. This paper describes a novel broadcast-based test decompressor architecture and a new method of configuration of the scan chain for this architecture based on the test set analysis. This paper presents and compares several similar heuristic algorithms that according to the test set analysis produce the scan chain configuration with the maximum broadcast rate for the given test set.