Scan compression eases HDTV IC test regime

DFT MAX automatically implements scan compression on-chip, which can reduce the amount of data required to test each manufactured part by 95% or more.

LG Electronics has used Synopsys DFT MAX scan compression to significantly increase test quality for a 65nm HDTV design.

DFT MAX automatically implements scan compression on-chip, which can reduce the amount of data required to test each manufactured part by 95% or more.

Reducing test data volume enables more types of deep submicron (DSM) tests to be stored in tester memory, resulting in improved quality of production testing and lower testing costs.

Data volume reduction also eliminates the need for costly investments to update the automatic test equipment (ATE) infrastructure.

"We outsource much of our production testing to specialty firms that use low-cost ATEs", says Woo-Hyun Paik, Vice President of LG Electronics, System IC Business Unit.

"Without scan compression, only a fraction of our DSM test patterns can be loaded at one time on these testers, and reloading patterns into memory during full-scale production testing is costly in terms of both time and money".

"Using DFT MAX to reduce test data volume for our new HDTV chip allowed us to apply all the test patterns at one time and take full advantage of the higher test quality possible with DSM tests".

Standard stuck-at test patterns are ineffective in detecting timing-sensitive manufacturing defects at 0.13um geometries and below, so many Synopsys customers are now using advanced DSM tests to target these defects during production testing.

To achieve very high test quality at LG Electronics, designers use the Synopsys TetraMAX automatic test pattern generation (ATPG) solution to generate a combination of transition delay tests, bridging tests, and path delay tests.

However, applying all these DSM tests on their large HDTV design would have exceeded the memory capacity of the production testers had they not also used DFT MAX to implement on-chip scan compression.

DFT MAX integrates seamlessly within Synopsys' Galaxy Design Platform to automatically implement compression which can reduce test data volume and test execution time by 95% or more, with low area overhead and virtually no impact on design timing.

"There is a growing need among semiconductor manufacturers to reduce test data volume to make room in memory for the ultra-high-quality test data generated using the latest advances in ATPG technology for detecting subtle nanometre defects", says Gal Hasson, senior director of Synthesis and Test Marketing at Synopsys.

"With Synopsys' Galaxy test solution, designers can easily meet their test quality goals while preserving their investments in ATE infrastructure".

"DFT MAX not only delivers pushbutton test data compression, but also is integrated with Synopsys' Design Compiler synthesis, PrimeTime signoff, Formality formal verification, and IC Compiler physical implementation solutions to speed time to results and help ensure design predictability".

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