Michael A. Kochte

Efficient fault simulation on many-core processors

Fault simulation is essential in test generation, design for test and reliability assessment of integrated circuits. Reliability analysis and the simulation of self-test structures are particularly computationally expensive as a large number of patterns has to be evaluated. In this work, we propose to map a fault simulation algorithm based on the parallel-pattern single-fault propagation (PPSFP) paradigm to many-core architectures and describe the involved algorithmic optimizations. Many-core architectures are characterized by a high number of simple execution units with small local memory. The proposed fault simulation algorithm exploits the parallelism of these architectures by use of parallel data structures. The algorithm is implemented for the NVIDIA GT200 Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) architecture and achieves a speed-up of up to 17x compared to an existing GPU fault-simulation algorithm and up to 16x compared to state-of-the-art algorithms on conventional processor architectures.

Power-aware test generation with guaranteed launch safety for at-speed scan testing

At-speed scan testing may suffer from severe yield loss due to the launch safety problem, where test responses are invalidated by excessive launch switching activity (LSA) caused by test stimulus launching in the at-speed test cycle. However, previous low-power test generation techniques can only reduce LSA to some extent but cannot guarantee launch safety. This paper proposes a novel & practical power-aware test generation flow, featuring guaranteed launch safety. The basic idea is to enhance ATPG with a unique two-phase (rescue & mask) scheme by targeting at the real cause of the launch safety problem, i.e., the excessive LSA in the neighboring areas (namely impact areas) around long paths sensitized by a test vector. The rescue phase is to reduce excessive LSA in impact areas in a focused manner, and the mask phase is to exclude from use in fault detection the uncertain test response at the endpoint of any long sensitized path that still has excessive LSA in its impact area even after the rescue phase is executed. This scheme is the first of its kind for achieving guaranteed launch safety with minimal impact on test quality and test costs, which is the ultimate goal of power-aware at-speed scan test generation.

Modeling, verification and pattern generation for reconfigurable scan networks

Reconfigurable scan architectures allow flexible integration and efficient access to infrastructure in SoCs, e.g. for test, diagnosis, repair or debug. Such scan networks are often hierarchical and have complex structural and functional dependencies. For instance, the IEEE P1687 proposal, known as IJTAG, allows integration of multiplexed scan networks with arbitrary internal control signals. Common approaches for scan verification based on static structural analysis and functional simulation are not sufficient to ensure correct operation of these types of architectures. Hierarchy and flexibility may result in complex or even contradicting configuration requirements to access single elements. Sequential logic justification is therefore mandatory both to verify the validity of a scan network, and to generate the required access sequences. This work presents a formal method for verification of reconfigurable scan architectures, as well as pattern retargeting, i.e. generation of required scan-in data. The method is based on a formal model of structural and functional dependencies. Network verification and pattern retargeting is mapped to a Boolean satisfiability problem, which enables the use of efficient SAT solvers to exhaustively explore the search space of valid scan configurations.

Module diversification: Fault tolerance and aging mitigation for runtime reconfigurable architectures

Runtime reconfigurable architectures based on Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are attractive for realizing complex applications. However, being manufactured in latest semiconductor process technologies, FPGAs are increasingly prone to aging effects, which reduce the reliability of such systems and must be tackled by aging mitigation and application of fault tolerance techniques. This paper presents module diversification, a novel design method that creates different configurations for runtime reconfigurable modules. Our method provides fault tolerance by creating the minimal number of configurations such that for any faulty Configurable Logic Block (CLB) there is at least one configuration that does not use that CLB. Additionally, we determine the fraction of time that each configuration should be used to balance the stress and to mitigate the aging process in FPGA-based runtime reconfigurable systems. The generated configurations significantly improve reliability by fault-tolerance and aging mitigation.

Scan pattern retargeting and merging with reduced access time

Efficient access to on-chip instrumentation is a key enabler for post-silicon validation, debug, bringup or diagnosis. Reconfigurable scan networks, as proposed by e.g. the IEEE Std. P1687, emerge as an effective and affordable means to cope with the increasing complexity of on-chip infrastructure. To access an element in a reconfigurable scan network, a scan-in bit sequence must be generated according to the current state and structure of the network. Due to sequential and combinational dependencies, the scan pattern generation process (pattern retargeting) poses a complex decision and optimization problem. This work presents a method for scan pattern generation with reduced access time. We map the access time reduction to a pseudo-Boolean optimization problem, which enables the use of efficient solvers to exhaustively explore the search space of valid scan-in sequences. This is the first automated method for efficient pattern retargeting in complex reconfigurable scan architectures such as P1687-based networks. It supports the concurrent access to multiple target scan registers (access merging) and generates reduced (short) scan-in sequences, considering all sequential and combinational dependencies. The proposed method achieves an access time reduction by up to 88× or 2.4× in average w.r.t. unoptimized satisfying solutions.

Test Strategies for Reliable Runtime Reconfigurable Architectures

Field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based reconfigurable systems allow the online adaptation to dynamically changing runtime requirements. The reliability of FPGAs, being manufactured in latest technologies, is threatened by soft errors, as well as aging effects and latent defects. To ensure reliable reconfiguration, it is mandatory to guarantee the correct operation of the reconfigurable fabric. This can be achieved by periodic or on-demand online testing. This paper presents a reliable system architecture for runtime-reconfigurable systems, which integrates two nonconcurrent online test strategies: preconfiguration online tests (PRET) and postconfiguration online tests (PORT). The PRET checks that the reconfigurable hardware is free of faults by periodic or on-demand tests. The PORT has two objectives: It tests reconfigured hardware units after reconfiguration to check that the configuration process completed correctly and it validates the expected functionality. During operation, PORT is used to periodically check the reconfigured hardware units for malfunctions in the programmable logic. Altogether, this paper presents PRET, PORT, and the system integration of such test schemes into a runtime-reconfigurable system, including the resource management and test scheduling. Experimental results show that the integration of online testing in reconfigurable systems incurs only minimum impact on performance while delivering high fault coverage and low test latency.

Concurrent Self-Test with Partially Specified Patterns for Low Test Latency and Overhead

Abstract—Structural on-line self-test may be performed to detect permanent faults and avoid their accumulation. This paper improves concurrent BIST techniques based on a deterministic test set. Here, the test patterns are specially generated with a small number of specifiedbits. This results in very low test latency, which reduces the likelihood of fault accumulation. Experiments with a large number of circuits show that the hardware overhead is significantly lower than the overhead for previously published methods. Furthermore, the method allows to tradeoff fault coverage, test latency and hardware overhead.

Transparent structural online test for reconfigurable systems

FPGA-based reconfigurable systems allow the online adaptation to dynamically changing runtime requirements. However, the reliability of modern FPGAs is threatened by latent defects and aging effects. Hence, it is mandatory to ensure the reliable operation of the FPGAs reconfigurable fabric. This can be achieved by periodic or on-demand online testing. In this paper, a system-integrated, transparent structural online test method for runtime reconfigurable systems is proposed. The required tests are scheduled like functional workloads, and thorough optimizations of the test overhead reduce the performance impact. The proposed scheme has been implemented on a reconfigurable system. The results demonstrate that thorough testing of the reconfigurable fabric can be achieved at negligible performance impact on the application.

Resilience Articulation Point (RAP): Cross-layer dependability modeling for nanometer system-on-chip resilience

Abstract The Resilience Articulation Point (RAP) model aims at provisioning researchers and developers with a probabilistic fault abstraction and error propagation framework covering all hardware/software layers of a System on Chip. RAP assumes that physically induced faults at the technology or CMOS device layer will eventually manifest themselves as a single or multiple bit flip(s). When probabilistic error functions for specific fault origins are known at the bit or signal level, knowledge about the unit of design and its environment allow the transformation of the bit-related error functions into characteristic higher layer representations, such as error functions for data words, Finite State Machine (FSM) state, macro-interfaces or software variables. Thus, design concerns at higher abstraction layers can be investigated without the necessity to further consider the full details of lower levels of design. This paper introduces the ideas of RAP based on examples of radiation induced soft errors in SRAM cells, voltage variations and sequential CMOS logic. It shows by example how probabilistic bit flips are systematically abstracted and propagated towards higher abstraction levels up to the application software layer, and how RAP can be used to parameterize architecture-level resilience methods.

FAST-BIST: Faster-than-at-Speed BIST targeting hidden delay defects

Small delay faults may be an indicator of a reliability threat, even if they do not affect the system functionality yet. In recent years, Faster-than-at-Speed-Test (FAST) has become a feasible method to detect faults, which are hidden by the timing slack or by long critical paths in the combinational logic. FAST poses severe challenges to the automatic test equipment with respect to timing, performance, and resolution. In this paper, it is shown how logic built-in self-test (BIST) or embedded deterministic test can be used for an efficient FAST application. Running BIST just at a higher frequency is not an option, as outputs of long paths will receive undefined values due to set time violations and destroy the content of the signature registers. Instead, for a given test pattern sequence, faults are classified according to the optimal detection frequency. For each class, a MISR-based compaction scheme is adapted, such that the critical bits to be observed can be determined by algebraic computations. Experiments show that rather a small number of inter-mediate signatures have to be evaluated to observe a large fraction of hidden delay faults testable by the given test sequence.