Fault identification in analog PWL circuits based on homotopy

The paper deals with a verification method of diagnosis of analog piecewise linear circuits based on homotopy approach. The homotopy maps the passing way of one function into another under influence of homotopic parameter t∈[0,1]. The homotopy can be used for description of voltages in measurement accessible nodes of circuit under test in relation to circuit element parameter changes. In the presented method, homotopy paths associated with particular elements have been applied for verification of fault hypotheses. The assumed hypothesis is true if different homotopy paths concerning measurement nodes have their ends in one point. This gives the possibility of fault localization and also identification on the basis of the path end point determination, The method is illustrated on the example of the single fault diagnosis of one-stage transistor amplifier