A system for data creation, storage, analysis, and training while margin testing includes a margin test generator coupled through an interface to a Device Under Test (DUT). The margin test generator is structured to modify test signals for testing the DUT during one or more testing states of a test session to create testing results. The testing results are stored in a data repository along with a DUT identifier of the DUT tested during the test session. A comparator determine whether any results of the DUT test results match a predictive outcome that is based from an analysis of previous DUT tests. If so, a message generator produces an indication that the tested DUT matched the predictive outcome.

Various embodiments provide for testing a transmitter with interpolation, which can be used with a circuit for data communications, such as serializer/deserializer (SerDes) communications. In particular, some embodiments provide for data transmission test of a transmitter by: generating and outputting a pre-determined data pattern through a serializer of the transmitter; sampling a serialized data output of the serializer over a plurality of different interpolation phase positions of a phase interpolator; and using a pattern checker to error check the sampled data over the plurality of different interpolation phase positions to determine whether the data transmission test passes.

A built-in self-test (BIST) method includes providing expanded test patterns to a logic circuit under test, generating a first signature based on a response of the logic circuit to the expanded test patterns, generating a second signature based on the first signature, wherein the second signature is a compressed version of the first signature, selecting one of the first signature or the second signature in response to a control signal, comparing the selected one of the first signature or the second signature to an expected signature, and, based on the comparison of the selected one of the first signature or the second signature to the expected signature, determining that the logic circuit passes or fails BIST.

A software-defined linear feedback shift register (SLFSR) implements a low-power test compression for launch-on-capture (LOC). Each bit of an extra register controls a stage of the SLFSR. A control vector is shifted into the extra register to indicate whether a primitive polynomial contains the stage of the non-zero bit. Therefore, SLFSR can configure any primitive polynomials with different degrees by loading different control vectors without any hardware overhead. A low-power test compression method and design for testability (DFT) architecture provide LOC transition fault testing by using seed encoding scheme, low-power test application procedure and a software-defined linear-feedback shift-register (SLFSR) architecture. The seed encoding scheme generates seeds for all test pairs by selecting a primitive polynomial that encodes all test pairs of a compact test set.

A method, apparatus and computer program for generating a test sequence of code 108 are described, the test sequence of code to be run on a target processing system 106 for use in testing the target processing system. The test sequence of code is based on one or more directed sequences of code 102, in which the one or more directed sequences of code are predetermined sequences of one or more directed instructions for testing predetermined parts of the target processing system. The method includes, for at least one of the one or more directed sequences of code, inserting randomly selected instructions at one or more insertion points in the directed sequence of code.

Techniques include configuring a sequential circuit monitor having been generated by applying a quantifier elimination to each random bit position of random inputs associated with a formal verification driver and selecting a value for random inputs to drive a next stage logic of sequential circuit simulation monitor, a state of the next stage logic being used by sequential circuit simulation monitor to generate sequential inputs to match those permitted by formal verification driver, formal verification driver being specified for a DUT input interface. An equivalence check between sequential circuit simulation monitor and original formal driver matches the same set of sequential inputs permitted original formal driver. The sequential circuit simulation monitor is coupled to a simulation environment and the DUT in simulation environment, sequential circuit simulation monitor being configured to flag an input sequence from the simulation environment not permitted by formal verification driver based on the sequential inputs.

A built-in self-test (BIST) method includes providing expanded test patterns to a logic circuit under test, generating a first signature based on a response of the logic circuit to the expanded test patterns, generating a second signature based on the first signature, wherein the second signature is a compressed version of the first signature, selecting one of the first signature or the second signature in response to a control signal, comparing the selected one of the first signature or the second signature to an expected signature, and, based on the comparison of the selected one of the first signature or the second signature to the expected signature, determining that the logic circuit passes or fails BIST.

An approach for testing, including a self-test method, a semiconductor chip is disclosed. The approach generates test patterns, including weighted random test patterns, for testing random pattern resistant faults, and un-modeled faults directed at specific logic groups, where the dynamically generated test pattern weights are configured to optimize test coverage and test time. The dynamically generated test patterns are based on factors related to random pattern resistant logic structures interconnected via scan chains. More particularly, the dynamically generated test patterns are designed to enable fault detection within logic structures that are resistant to fault detection when tested with random patterns.

Presented embodiments facilitate efficient and effective flexible implementation of different types of testing procedures in a test system. Presented embodiments enable efficient and effective random generation of test input information. In one embodiment a method includes accessing a plurality of data values to write to a DUT, generating a plurality of addresses pseudo randomly and assigning the address to a respective one of the data values, wherein assignments of a particular address to different respective ones of the data values are randomly repeatable; and directing writing of the data values to the DUT in accordance with the plurality of addresses that are randomly generated and randomly repeated. The generating a plurality of addresses randomly can include normalization. Generating a plurality of addresses pseudo randomly and assigning the address to a respective one of the data values can include performing a confirmation check. The confirmation check can include checking if the addresses within proper parameters.

The present application discloses a test device and method with built-in self-test logic and a communication device. The test device includes at least one generator and at least one checker which are disposed between a physical layer and a medium access control layer, The at least one generator is configured to generate a protocol pattern to form a data path between the physical layer and the medium access control layer and generate different pseudo random bit sequence patterns in the data path. The at least one checker is configured to test data stream in the physical layer and/or the medium access control layer according to the pseudo random bit sequence patterns, thereby locating a fault position.