Time-Multiplexed 1687-Network for Test Cost Reduction

Abstract

The reconfigurable scan network standardized by IEEE std. 1687 offers flexibility in accessing the on-chip instruments, which significantly improves the test cost. In this paper, we present a novel time-multiplexed 1687-network architecture that significantly improves the absolute test application time of systems-on-chip at wafer-level as well as package-levels tests. This architecture leverages: 1) the ever increasing tester channel frequency; 2) the allowed test frequencies at the two test levels; and 3) the flexibility offered by the 1687-network. We also present a test-time calculation method for the proposed network architecture and use it in our experiments. Furthermore, we study the effects of the number of time slots on different parameters.