Native-Mode Self Test for Embedded Systems on a Chip

Advances in semiconductor technology have enabled the integration of digital, mixed-signal, and RF systems on a single chip. While systems on a chip (SoCs) offer many benefits in cost and performance, they pose significant challenges for testing after manufacture. Trends in technology as well as applications which pose problems for conventional test will be described. A novel approach which uses the computational resources of an SoC to test itself will be described as a way to deal with emerging test problems. Techniques to test the embedded digital, analog and RF modules in the SoC will be discussed. Results of simulations and measurements on prototype hardware show that the approach can predict the specifications of the modules with high accuracy, pointing towards a new direction for low-cost manufacturing test of future products.