Achieving 100% cell-aware coverage by design

A comprehensive investigation of new integrated circuit design and fabrication technologies is crucial for yielding reliable parts. Prior work proposed a novel logic characterization vehicle called the Carnegie Mellon Logic Characterization Vehicle (CM-LCV), and an implementation flow that ensures a test chip to be product-like with near optimal testability and diagnosability. This work describes an enhanced implementation methodology for CM-LCV that not only guarantees 100% intra-cell defect testability for all standard cells but also reflects the user-specified design characteristics. Experiments comparing intra-cell defect testability between a CM-LCV and various benchmark circuits demonstrate the efficacy of this approach. Specifically, the CM-LCV achieves 92.4% overall input pattern fault coverage and 100% cell-aware fault coverage using an optimal, minimal test set.