Partial simulation-driven ATPG for detection and diagnosis of faults in analog circuits

In this paper, we propose a novel fault-oriented test generation methodology for detection and isolation of faults in analog circuits. Given the description of the circuit-under-test, the proposed test generator computes the optimal transient test stimuli in order to detect and isolate a given set of faults. It also computes the optimal set of test nodes to probe at, and the time instants to make measurements. The test generation program accommodates the effects introduced by component tolerances and measurement inaccuracy, and can be tailored to fit the signal generation capabilities of a hardware tester. Experimental results show that the proposed technique can be applied to generate transient tests for both linear and non-linear analog circuits of moderate complexity in reasonably less CPU time. This will significantly impact the test development costs for an analog circuit and will decrease the time-to-market of a product. Finally, the short duration and the easy-to-apply feature of the test stimuli will lead to significant reduction in production test costs.