PLATYPUS: A PLA Test Pattern Generation Tool

PLATypus (PLA Test pattern generation and logic simulation tool) is an efficient tool for large PLA\´s which is interfaced with other existing PLA tools such as the folding program PLEASURE [12] and the logic minimizer ESPRESSO II-C [11] developed at the University of California at Berkeley. A new algorithm is proposed based on complementation and the tautology check of a logic cover, derived from the PLA personality matrix. Both complementation and tautology check are performed by advanced logic manipulation algorithms used in the logic minimization program ESPRESSO II-C [11]. The algorithm is exact, i.e., every testable crosspoint fault is tested, and maximum fault coverage is guaranteed. A quick preprocess, the biased random test generation, is used followed by the proposed algorithm to achieve the best balance between run time and test-set compactness. The program is refined at various stages by many powerful heuristics in the area of fault processing order, backend fault simulation, "don\´t-care" bit fixing, and on-the-fly test compaction. Both single stuck-at and crosspoint fault models are supported. PLATYPUS can also be used as a logic simulation tool and redundancy identifier. Test pattern generation has been performed by PLATYPUS on a large number of industrial PLA\´s.