Mixed current/voltage observation towards effective testing of analog and mixed-signal circuits

Abstract

Power supply current monitoring is a promising technique for the development of new test methodologies for analog and mixed-signal circuits. The advantages of efficiency and reduced test time have already been recognized in the digital domain. This paper shows that improved test efficiency and detection confidence are obtained when both output voltage and power supply current are observed. Results found from the simulation of two circuits are presented comparing fault detection ratios and the amplitude of faulty response deviations when observing each one of these signals~ Cross-correlation between output voltage and power supply current is presented as a means to perform a single mixed current/voltage testing operation, providing at the same time increased efficiency. It allows also for simplifications on test circuitry and processing, as reductions on the sampling rates and amplitude resolutions used to acquire the signals provide the same fault coverage levels obtained using higher fidelity measurements.

Mixed-signal BIST using correlation and reconfigurable hardware (poster paper)

“…) and output voltage (¤ ¥ § ¦ © ) dynamic responses [1]. These correlations are performed in the FPGA using one bit quantisation of the signals -the so called polarity correlation.…”