A linear code-preserving signature analyzer COPMISR

In this paper for an arbitrary linear separable code the concept of a COde Preserving Multi-Input Signature Register COPMISR is introduced. For a code with k control bits 2/sup k2/ different COPMISR´s can be designed. The optimum COPMISR with a minimum number of XOR-gates can be chosen from this large set. By different examples it is shown how the newly introduced COPMISR can be simultaneously utilized for concurrent checking, testing and localization of an eventually erroneous component of the monitored system. Since parity codes, group-parity codes, duplication codes and Hamming codes are special linear separable codes the concept of the COPMISR has a wide range of applications in different areas of on-line error detection and BIST.